May 25: Messier guarantees victory, delivers for Rangers

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: May 25
1994:
Mark Messier
delivers on his guarantee that the New York Rangers will defeat the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final,
scoring three goals
in a 4-2 victory at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Messier tells reporters the Rangers, down 3-2 in the best-of-7 series, will force a Game 7. His words are splashed on the front pages of newspapers all around the New York area.
With the Rangers down 2-0 late in the second period, Messier sets up
Alex Kovalev
before intermission to cut the Devils' lead to 2-1. He ties the game early in the third period, puts New York ahead 3-2 with 7:48 remaining and caps his performance by shooting the puck the length of the ice into an empty net.
"I felt that guaranteeing a win] would be a great way to let my players know that I believed we could go in there and win Game 6, because we had beaten them six times during the regular season -- three times in their building," Messier says.
**MORE MOMENTS**
**1978:** The Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup for the third consecutive season by defeating the Boston Bruins
[4-1 in Game 6 of the Final
. After defenseman
Brad Park
scores a power-play goal 4:05 into the game to give the packed house at Boston Garden some hope,
Steve Shutt
and
Mario Tremblay
score in a span of 2:19 to give Montreal a 2-1 lead. Tremblay and
Rejean Houle
score late in the second period to make it 4-1.
Ken Dryden
finishes with 15 saves. Montreal defenseman
Larry Robinson
wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
1985:
Wayne Gretzky
scores
three goals in the first period
and the Edmonton Oilers hold on for a 4-3 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of the Final at Northlands Coliseum. Defenseman
Paul Coffey
assists on all three of Gretzky's goals, as well as a second-period power-play goal by
Mike Krushelnyski
that proves to be the game-winner when the Flyers rally in the third period.
Mark Howe
and
Brian Propp
score to make it a one-goal game with 5:34 remaining, but
Grant Fuhr
finishes with 27 saves to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

1989:
Lanny McDonald
finishes his career as a Stanley Cup champion
when the Calgary Flames
defeat the Canadiens 4-2 in Game 6 of the Final
at the Forum. McDonald scores at 4:24 of the second period to put the Flames ahead 2-1, and
Doug Gilmour
scores twice in the third to seal the first championship in Flames history. It's the only time that the Canadiens lose the last game of the Final in their own building.

1991:The Pittsburgh Penguins put an exclamation point on the first championship in their history by defeating the Minnesota North Stars
8-0 in Game 6 of the Final
at Met Center.
Mario Lemieux
scores one goal and has three assists, and
Tom Barrasso
makes 39 saves for the first playoff shutout of his NHL career. Lemieux is awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring 16 goals and finishing with 44 points in 23 playoff games.
1998:Bill Clinton becomes the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NHL game. He's at MCI Center to see the Washington Capitals defeat the Buffalo Sabres
3-2 in overtime
in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final. Buffalo forces overtime when
Matthew Barnaby
scores a power-play goal with 57 seconds remaining in the third period to make it 2-2. But
Todd Krygier
scores 3:01 into OT to even the best-of-7 series at one win apiece.
2002:
Patrick Roy
sets an NHL record for most career playoff games. He makes 31 saves in his 237th postseason appearance to help the Colorado Avalanche
defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2
in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at Pepsi Center. Roy breaks the mark of 236 postseason games that had been held by Messier.

2015:
Matt Beleskey
scores 45 seconds into overtime, giving the Anaheim Ducks a
5-4 win against the Chicago Blackhawks
at Honda Center in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. The Ducks lead 3-0 after one period and 4-2 with less than two minutes remaining in the third, but Chicago's Jonathan Toews scores twice with goalie Corey Crawford on the bench for an extra attacker, forcing the overtime. Beleskey's goal gives Anaheim a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.
2016:The San Jose Sharks advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since entering the NHL in 1991 by
defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-2
at SAP Center in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. Joel Ward scores two goals and Martin Jones made 23 saves for the Sharks. It's the first trip to the Final for longtime Sharks forwards Patrick Marleau (1,411 games) and Joe Thornton (1,347); their combined total of 2,478 NHL regular-season games played is the most by two teammates each making the Cup Final for the first time.
2017:The defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins
defeat the Ottawa Senators 3-2
in double overtime to win Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final and advance to the Cup Final. Forward Chris Kunitz, who hasn't scored a goal during the playoffs, opens the scoring midway through the second period and gets the game-winner at 5:09 of the second overtime.