June 14: Rangers win Stanley Cup for first time in 54 years

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: June 14
1994:The NHL's longest championship drought ends at 54 years when the New York Rangers
hold off the Vancouver Canucks 3-2
in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Rangers get the packed house at Madison Square Garden revved up when
Brian Leetch
and
Adam Graves
score to give them a 2-0 lead after one period.
Trevor Linden
scores a shorthanded goal for the Canucks early in the second period, but a power-play goal by
Mark Messier
at 13:29 makes it 3-1.
Linden scores a power-play goal at 4:50 of the third period to make it a one-goal game again, but goalie
Mike Richter
excels and the Rangers hold on until center
Craig MacTavish
, one of seven former Edmonton Oilers brought in by general manager Neil Smith to instill a winning atmosphere, wins a final face-off to trigger one of the biggest celebrations in New York sports history.

It's the
fourth Stanley Cup championship
for the Rangers, but their first since
1940
. It's also the first time since entering the NHL in 1926 that they've won it at the Garden.
"We had played so much hockey and had so much emotion -- the semifinals and Final both went seven games -- that the biggest thing I felt after the game was relief," says Leetch, who becomes the first U.S.-born player voted as winner of the
Conn Smythe Trophy
as playoff MVP. "I went home that night and went to bed feeling tired, but when I got up the next day, I began to feel the excitement. We spent the next few days celebrating."
MORE MOMENTS
1993:The Florida Panthers officially receive their membership in the NHL. The franchise is to be based in Miami and begin play in the 1993-94 season, along with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, giving the League 26 teams.
2006:
Fernando Pisani
becomes the first player to score a shorthanded overtime goal in the Final, giving the Edmonton Oilers
a 4-3 victory
against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 at RBC Center. With defenseman
Steve Staios
off for tripping, Pisani beats
Cam Ward
at 3:31 to cut the Hurricanes' lead in the best-of-7 series to 3-2. Pisani also scores 16 seconds into the game, joining
Sid Smith
of the Toronto Maple Leafs (
Game 1 in 1951
, against the Montreal Canadiens) as the only players to score a first-minute goal and an overtime goal in the same Final game.