“For me, to see what [the Devils] had been through—having led in Game 6 only to see it wash away while [Mark] Messier took over—it was shocking. Just how much more would they be able to muster in Game 7? And how was Jacques [Lemaire] and the team going to be able to prop themselves up for another chance at it? As I drove through the tunnel that day, that’s what I was thinking about.”
—Mike Miller, New Jersey Devils play-by-play voice (1993–2002)
Mike Miller was in his rookie season as New Jersey’s radio play-by-play man, and already he had witnessed a career’s worth of memories. During the two-week-long Eastern Conference Finals, he had seen it all. During Game 6 at the Meadowlands, he admittedly allowed himself—as a broadcaster new to the NHL—to dream a bit about how great it would be to call the Stanley Cup Finals in a matter of days. It would be a dream come true. He could already envision Vancouver in the swamps of East Rutherford for Game 1, with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with the championship round. He had good reason to be looking ahead, obviously. The Devils were cruising, they were at home, and all the pieces were in place.
That is, until Mark Messier and the Rangers woke up.
One improbable period of hockey later, the postseason pendulum had swung back toward New York. Suddenly, with what was sure to be a frenzied, packed house at the Garden on a Friday night ready to usher in a conference title on Memorial Day weekend, it was the Devils who had no shot.
“None,” Chris Russo said. “That was certainly the attitude in and around New York. The Devils had no chance. With the way the Rangers had won Game 6, everyone thought there was just no way they’d lose Game 7.”
But the Devils hadn’t reached this point by doubting themselves. Sure, with media coverage spinning out of control, it was easy for people to ride the hot hand and just bank on what they thought was going to happen. But New Jersey had other ideas. Jacques Lemaire wasn’t about to let his team lose the opportunity of a lifetime. They were still just three periods away from an Eastern Conference crown, and the simple, classic, cliché-like phrase so often heard in sports rang true here: “At the beginning of the season, if you were to tell me that we’d have a chance at the Finals in a Game 7 setting, we would have taken it every time.”
And so they did.
“It wasn’t a great couple of days for us, but we knew what we had to do,” Jim Dowd said. “We still had that mind-set that never once would a negative thought cross our minds. That’s how we got to the point we were at. If something bad happens, move on. That sort of became our tradition.”
That tradition was put to the test on May 27, 1994, right from the start. In fact, how the Devils could even hear themselves think during John Amirante’s rousing rendition of the national anthem was a marvel in itself.
“Madison Square Garden, worthy of its name as the world’s greatest and most famous sports arena, just had its roof taken off with the national anthem,” Gary Thorne said on the ESPN telecast. “Will they do it again with a Ranger win? Or will the Devils quiet this building before this night is over?”
As Mark Messier prepared for the opening faceoff with Bobby Carpenter, Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” blared through the loudspeakers: “It’s up to you, New York, New York!”
Indeed it was. But wouldn’t you know it, Carpenter won the faceoff, and the Devils got right to work.
“They had to come to play,” Miller said. “They were out to set a tone. I remember Bill Guerin was such a force early on, and the Devils were getting their chances.”
Stephane Richer, injury and all, was able to break in on the right wing early. He wove around the Rangers defense and let off a wrist shot that was saved by Mike Richter for the first Devils shot. Richer wasn’t alone. The Devils were aggressive up front, and were hardly intimidated by Messier. In fact, Messier lost his first three faceoffs of the game, twice to Carpenter and once to Dowd.
But the Rangers weren’t being dominated by any stretch. They had their legs early on, and there was little evidence of a letdown after the Game 6 comeback. Mike Keenan was determined to hold nothing back. He shuffled his lines, notably moving Glenn Anderson around during the first period as he adjusted to the Devils’ push. With derogatory chants of “Mar-ty, Mar-ty” serenading the Devils rookie goaltender four minutes in, the Rangers sustained some pressure in New Jersey’s zone and released some rubber his way. They weren’t the best chances in the world, but five minutes in, the Rangers had six shots.
Where New York was imposing its will, though, was on the physical side. Six minutes in, the Rangers were outhitting the Devils 7–5, including a surprising shoulder from Brian Leetch to Claude Lemieux that knocked the latter to the ice as he hit the Rangers’ zone. Kevin Lowe also shoved Bernie Nicholls into the New Jersey bench, and almost tried to push him over.
It was clear this was not just another game. In fact, if you didn’t know the uniforms and the personnel, you’d think the two teams had reversed roles during the opening frame. Here the Rangers were—with grit and grind—playing Devils Hockey, while the Devils—with skill and skating—were playing Rangers Hockey.
“They were playing hard and physical, but I thought they were playing responsible,” Miller said of the Rangers. “They were pulling a page from the Devils, kind of waiting for a turnover or an odd-man rush. And they got a few, but Marty was so strong.”
“The benefit of winning Game 6 was getting the Devils to play on their heels just a little bit there early on,” Leetch said. “That allowed us some breathing room without having to force the play. There were still opportunities both ways, even though both teams were playing close to the vest. But we liked the flow of the game, and we were getting chances. Marty was playing so well for them, though, and we knew it was just going to be another one of those tight games.”
The hits continued for the home team, as the crowd was truly seeing a different type of Ranger on the ice. It was almost as if New York wanted to demoralize New Jersey physically, before doing so on the scoreboard. But with 6:05 to go, and the Rangers outhitting the Devils 18–9, the road team began to fight back. Brian Noonan, a Keenan favorite who was back in the lineup replacing Eddie Olczyk, entered the slot in front of Martin Brodeur and was sandwiched by Nicholls and John MacLean just before getting a shot off. With 3:15 to go, Esa Tikkanen was erased along the boards by Bruce Driver. He fell awkwardly and was cut on the forehead just below his helmet line. Tikkanen left to get stitched up and was largely unfazed, but the Devils had made their statement.
“I don’t care who you are,” Bill Clement said on the ESPN call. “If you’re watching this, you have to like it.”
The Devils pushed on. Their fourth line, intent on making the most of its regular turn, sustained some play on their last shift of the period in the Rangers’ zone and quieted the crowd a bit in the process.
“We knew, with the way the series had already gone, that it was not going to be easy,” Stephane Matteau said. “We knew we had the momentum, but we knew the Devils were going to play hard with the Finals on the line.”
From his knees behind the net, Mike Peluso passed the puck to Randy McKay directly behind Richter. Peluso then turned and headed for the front of the net to create traffic, as McKay fed Bobby Holik a soft centering pass. Holik fanned on it, but surprisingly had enough time to gather and let a shot go that hit Richter in his chest. Richter covered to gain a whistle, but it was a quality shift nonetheless and a credit to New Jersey.
Scott Niedermayer fed off that momentum on his next turn. Along the boards to Brodeur’s right, he lowered his right shoulder into Joey Kocur, who caromed off the boards, fell backward, and coughed up possession of the puck.
“Some people go their whole careers without getting that chance to win it all,” Niedermayer said. “But I got it early in my career, and wanted to do everything I could to make the most of it.”
It was just another sign of how different the atmosphere in the building was. In a be-all, end-all game, everyone had to be prepared to do a little bit of everything. Enforcers, like McKay and Peluso, needed to create offense, and the skill players, like Niedermayer, needed to be physical.
“Everybody hits,” Clement said. “If you don’t hit, you don’t play in a Game 7.”
And unless you can’t skate, you’re going to play in a Game 7, too. Take Richer, for example. On a bad knee, he took nine shifts and one shot in the first period.
With 1:02 left, Dowd won a faceoff to the left of Brodeur over Alexei Kovalev, and the Devils cleared the zone with some precision. Dowd connected with MacLean at center, and the latter ripped a slap shot from just outside the zone that Richter calmly stopped as the final seconds ticked away on an emotionally even period.
With the Rangers leading in shots 11–10 and hits aplenty on both sides, the teams and fans were able to collect their breath and prepare for the rest of the night. But the Devils had reason to feel confident. They withstood the Rangers’ initial onslaught, settled into the flow of the game, and showed everyone expecting them not to show up that they weren’t going away anytime soon.
Keenan again juggled his lines to start the second, as Kovalev returned to the top line and replaced Anderson, as he did successfully in Game 6. But it was a different line that got the Rangers going in the second period. In a region of the ice he’d make forever famous later in the game, Matteau shook free of Scott Stevens’ stick and centered a pass from behind the net to Tikkanen, who had returned to action with five stitches in his forehead. From the right faceoff dot, Tikkanen fired a one-timer that Brodeur stopped and held from his knees.
“That was the best scoring chance for the Rangers in this game,” Clement said, “and it had to happen quickly because there was about a quarter-of-a-second window for Tikkanen to let it go.”
As tense as things started to get, spirits were still up on both sides. As Noonan circled in front of Richter during a stoppage, the goaltender politely whacked at Noonan’s pants with his stick at 15:30.
“It was an exciting game, but you had to stay calm and play your game,” Steve Larmer said. “But it was definitely exciting. Scary…but exciting.”
The officials had made it clear by then that they were going to let the teams play, and let the best one win. In fact, 25 minutes in, despite hits all over the ice, there hadn’t been a single penalty called.
“There were such great players on both sides,” said linesman Kevin Collins, who worked Game 7, “with great play on both sides.”
No line personified that more than the Devils’ fourth. Back at it six minutes in, McKay shook Leetch behind the net but fell, though the puck glided over to Holik, who was to the right and behind Richter. Holik sent it over to Peluso at the right faceoff dot, and the latter sent it around the boards where it was stopped by Noonan, who sent it back around Richter as the posturing continued. Noonan’s clearing attempt was stopped by McKay behind the net, and with the skill of a top liner, McKay pushed a backhand touch pass between his legs to Peluso on Richter’s left. Peluso left it for an unguarded Holik in front of Richter for the Devils’ best chance of the night. Holik got some good wood on it, but Richter stopped it and kicked it out with his right leg with 14:00 left.
“Great save by Mike Richter! A magnificent save on the setup with Bobby Holik,” Clement said. “Robbed of a goal! That was the best save of the last four games.”
“That’s one of the things that I remember so vividly about Game 7,” said the Post’s Larry Brooks. “As the minutes ticked away, and with what was all on the line, there Jacques was, continuing to throw out that fourth line. A regular shift no matter what. And they were unbelievable that night.”
As was Richter. With play stopped thanks to an icing at 13:37, a fan in the lower bowl held up a simple sign with a brick wall on it. Richter’s number—35—was smack dab in the middle of the wall, and it seemed fitting after that save. A 1–0 Devils lead, with little more than half the game left, could have spelled doom and gloom for the home team. Instead, Richter fired up his teammates and the crowd, and within minutes, the whole tenor of the game changed.
“We knew that with it being such a very close, competitive series, that the margin for success was minuscule,” Keenan said. “We knew we were up against a very talented a team, a very strong, physical team that was young enough to stick around for a long, long time. And we knew we needed to make the most of our opportunities.”
At 10:36 of the second, they began to do just that. Messier won a faceoff from Dowd to Brodeur’s right, and Adam Graves slid it to the right point for Leetch. So began one of the better individual plays ever scripted against the Devils’ dominant defense. Leetch collected at the point, right in front of the Coca-Cola sign, and skated alongside the boards and in behind the goal line. Guerin sensed Leetch’s strategy, and rushed in behind Brodeur to stop or at least impede him. But Leetch stopped on a dime, sprayed Guerin with some ice, orchestrated a 360-degree turn that completely shook Guerin, and offered up a wraparound that eluded both Guerin and Stevens. The puck ultimately crawled in the net through Brodeur’s pads as he hugged the right post.
Perhaps Brodeur wasn’t expecting it. After all, there were two defensively sound Devils tracking Leetch’s every move. Whatever the case, the crowd erupted as the puck crept past the goal line ever so slowly. Brodeur was left to simply stare ahead as Leetch’s sixth goal of the playoffs at 9:31 wiped out the second-period momentum that the wave of Devils forwards had mounted. The goal gave the Rangers a 1–0 lead that—considering the way Richter was playing—might have been all New York would need.
“You just don’t see those kinds of moves much against a good defensive team,” Matteau said. “Leetchy…what a play.”
“Great players rising to the occasion,” Thorne said. “Brian Leetch, with his first goal of the series.”
Hard to believe, but it was true. Leetch, perhaps the Rangers’ best all-around player, who had been benched earlier in the series, finally broke through and gave the crowd reason to relax…though just a little. This was New York, after all.
“[The Garden] was rocking,” Russo said, “as you might expect.”
In fact, not long after the goal, “Rock and Roll, Part II” came on over the loudspeaker—the ultimate hockey momentum song from 1972, complete with Gary Glitter’s “Hey!” chorus—and the crowd rose to its feet. After the ensuing faceoff, the derisive “Mar-ty, Mar-ty” chants returned, and once again, there was celebration in the air.
The Rangers responded in kind. With 9:00 to go, New York was leading in shots 7–2 in the second period and 18–12 in the game. It was a critical juncture for New Jersey, especially considering Richter had kept its offense off the board. The Devils were in danger of losing everything they had worked so hard for.
“Richter’s pads were so wide…he always had big pads, and he had this funny walk with them as he came off the ice,” ESPN’s Al Morganti said. “But his walk was always so confident with them, and they were that night. He was spectacular in that series. Nothing was getting through him.”
The Rangers played as if that didn’t matter and continued to pressure after the goal. An Anderson wrist shot from the right point was stopped. A Graves shot from the point was deflected. A Kovalev shot from the right circle was blocked. The Rangers were dominating, and the Devils needed a change. Eventually, as often seems to happen when teams begin to scramble defensively, a desperate New Jersey team committed a penalty at 12:13. Matteau carried into the zone on the right point, and with some room calmly waited for Messier to shake Lemieux on his way into the zone. It never happened, because Lemieux interfered with Messier just as Matteau’s pass landed in front of them.
It was at that point that one of the recurring themes of the series—a Rangers timeout—returned. In Game 6, Keenan was simply trying to stop the bleeding. But in Game 7, he was the one who smelled blood. Already up a goal with a power play in store, Keenan knew he had a chance to bury the Devils once and for all. So, he called time to give his top man-advantage unit a rest. And just as he had in Game 6, he didn’t say anything during the timeout. The team didn’t need him to.
“One thing about Mike Keenan,” Clement said. “He is on top of every crucial moment of a game.”
More times than not, these Devils were, too. With the exception of a Noonan wrist shot with 10 seconds left in the power play that was calmly stopped by Brodeur, the Rangers’ opportunity came and went with little danger. It was an important kill for New Jersey, and ever so slowly, the team fed off it. With two minutes to go in the frame, the Devils mounted a rush. With three players hovering at the line, Sergei Nemchinov fanned on a clearing attempt that was intercepted by Guerin, with Valeri Zelepukin and Dowd on his wings. As they raced in, Guerin elected to shoot as Zelepukin crashed the net. But again, Richter made the save with 1:46 left, falling backward into the net after the whistle.
Guerin was left to look down at the ice. He shook his head, spit, and looked back at Richter as if to say, “You got me again.” Clearly, as mentally strong as these Devils were, it seemed that Richter was in their heads now. And as the public address announcer gave the one-minute warning, there were cheers and whistles, followed by a heartfelt chant that wasn’t heard much throughout this series but probably should have been: “Rich-ter. Rich-ter.”
“It really did get lost among everything else just how good Richter played in that series,” Russo said.
At the end of the second, the Rangers had a 22–16 edge in shots and a 1–0 lead. They were 20 minutes from a date with destiny in the Stanley Cup Finals. The comeback was almost complete. There was a buzz throughout the Garden during that intermission, as fans got up out of their seats to pace, wander, and do whatever it took to take the edge off.
Steve Levy, an ESPN anchor on SportsCenter who cut his teeth in the business on WFAN and was raised a Rangers fan, was one of those wanderers. “I had just started at ESPN, and my career was very much in the early stages,” he said. “And it was a strange feeling for me, because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel. In a work setting, it would have been different. But I was there with friends, and as a fan, it was impossible not to get caught up in the moment.”
As the teams took the ice, history began to creep into the equation. Would those aforementioned demons in the basement that Messier and Lowe alluded to surface at some point in the next 20 minutes? After all, the last time the Rangers won a playoff game by the score of 1–0 was on March 28, 1940, the same year they last won a Cup. No pressure.
Brodeur was ready to meet the challenge, though. He made his best save, and kept the Devils in the game, as Nemchinov and Greg Gilbert created a 2-on-1 at center ice early on in the third. Gilbert passed the puck through Niedermayer’s legs and over to Nemchinov right in front of the net, but Brodeur slid along his knees and prevented Nemchinov’s tap. Incredibly, it was the Rangers’ first odd-man rush since Game 4, a true credit to New Jersey’s defense.
But time was running out for the Devils, no matter how strong the goaltending on the other side was. With 16:56 left, as Stevens dumped in behind Richter, the “Let’s Go Ran-gers” chants got louder and louder as the fans started to sense a victory. With 16:32 left, the Rangers had a 23–15 edge in shots, and the Devils knew they would have to take some chances and perhaps even break their defensive shell.
“The Rangers are now the ones mucking it up at center,” Thorne said.
But that move cost them, and the Devils were given a chance. An elbowing call at 6:32 was levied on Kovalev after he decked Stevens. There was a tangle at the Rangers bench, and Kovalev had been just a little too physical. As the hit was levied, every Ranger on the bench immediately looked to referee Bill McCreary to see if his arm was raised.
It was. The Devils would have an all-important power play.
Unfortunately for New Jersey, it was the Rangers who dominated the next two minutes; at times, it appeared as if the Devils were the team that was short-handed. Larmer easily cleared the zone with 1:15 left in the penalty. Tikkanen did the same with 32 seconds left, and Leetch did the same seconds later. Finally, Matteau casually carried to center and calmly dumped into the Devils’ zone as the penalty kill ended.
New Jersey didn’t appear frustrated, though. Nine minutes in, Guerin mounted another rush that could’ve tied it. As Tom Chorske carried out of his own zone, Guerin blew through center between Kovalev and Jay Wells. Wells had no shot from the outset, as Guerin took the pass, entered the zone, and was free on Richter. Guerin turned his back and offered up a backhander with some steam that Richter stopped. Then, Guerin ran into Richter on the rebound and knocked the net off its moorings. As Guerin raced into the zone, the entire Devils bench rose to its skates, sensing a tying goal…to no avail.
“He was a beast that night,” Brooks said of Guerin, who didn’t give up and had two more shots on his next shift. “He was all over the place.”
As they both got to their feet, Richter and Guerin had words for each other. For one of the only times in the series, New York’s mild-mannered goalie actually seemed a bit rattled. Of course, it didn’t show on the scoreboard. With that save on Guerin, Richter hadn’t allowed a goal in the last 91:30 of the series.
The Devils maintained their push, though, and continued to pressure Richter. Nothing changed in the way of lines, and with good reason. Lemaire had no reason to change his system now. The chances were there. The aggression was there. The passion was there. Everything was there…except a goal.
“We’re down under eight minutes to go,” Clement said, “and Jacques Lemaire will not stray from his game plan.”
With 5:55 left, there was a faceoff to Richter’s left. Nicholls beat Messier on the draw, but Tommy Albelin fanned on a shot from the point, creating a 2-on-1 the other way for Graves and Kovalev. Graves elected to shoot, and fired from the right point. Brodeur made the save with his right leg, and calmly covered. He was still in this game, and was content to get a whistle whenever he could to keep his teammates fresh. Even as the clock wound down, the Devils still played their game and suffocating defense.
“We really made an impact with the way we played defensively,” Brodeur said. “That’s us. That’s who we are.”
Brodeur was right—with three minutes left, it appeared abundantly clear that the Rangers were probably not going to get another goal in regulation. If they were going to win it here and now, it was going to be 1–0. With 1:50 to go, a nervous quiet that had built over a few minutes began to give way to cheers, whistles, and screams. The fans began to rock back and forth in their seats, and often looked at each other as if to say, “Is this finally it?”
All the while, the Devils were changing lines fluidly, giving themselves every possible chance to grab a goal. The Rangers were ready for every push. As time ticked down, Driver sent in the puck behind Richter and to his left. Jeff Beukeboom gathered and tried to clear, but MacLean held, only to give way to Leetch, who took it out of harm’s way and into the New Jersey zone.
Devils attempt foiled.
With 1:29 left, Richer gained some steam along the benches but was run into by Tikkanen before he could enter the zone.
Devils attempt foiled.
With 1:18 left, Stevens carried to center as the Devils tried to mount a rush, but Beukeboom intercepted and his clearing attempt reached the seats with 1:11 left.
Devils attempt foiled.
All the while, the boat horns from the upper deck were going off, and the crowd’s fever pitch was at an all-time high.
But the Devils were unfazed. As amazing as it seemed, this team that had been built to win in the toughest of circumstances would not stay down on the canvas. Dowd won the ensuing faceoff versus Messier near the New Jersey bench and dumped in as Brodeur headed off for the extra man. Messier gained possession, turned, and iced the puck, as Zelepukin touched up on the play.
As the teams skated toward Richter and the faceoff circle to his right, the Garden’s organ rendition of “Rock and Roll, Part II” played, and the crowd vigorously yelled “Hey!” right on cue. Tension, torment, passion, pride—it was all out there for everyone to see. This classic series, one that was already being mentioned among the best ever, was in its final minute.
Or so everyone thought.
With 48 seconds left and an empty net on the other end of the rink, Nicholls again beat Messier on a draw. He drifted to the point, where Stevens held. New Jersey’s captain then banged it around the boards back to Nicholls, who backhanded it behind the net. Beukeboom, having his best period of the series, was there. He corralled and cleared. Stevens touched the icing with 24 seconds left, as “Shout” began to play during the stoppage. The 1959 classic Isley Brothers song indeed asked the fans to shout, and they responded. You could sense the anxiety, but it didn’t stop them from singing along.
Nicholls and Messier went at it again at the dot to Richter’s right. Again, capping perhaps his best playoff series ever, Nicholls won it. He pushed it to the point for Driver, but Driver sensed Nicholls’ momentum and got it right back to him. Nicholls, at the top of the right circle, let go of a wrist shot that was stopped by Richter and was held after a quick whistle by McCreary. Richter had tried to play the puck off to his left when the whistle was blown, a play that would have burned a few more precious seconds off the clock. Richter was not happy about the call, but did not say anything at the time to McCreary. After all, Richter needed to remain focused; at this point, he had not allowed a goal in the last 1:02:11 and was mere seconds away from being the first goalie ever to have five shutouts in a postseason.
“I still thought it was a quick whistle,” he said later.
With 18.6 seconds left, Messier finally won a draw from Nicholls, as the “De-fense” chants went up at the Garden, as though it was a Knicks game. After Messier took this draw, the puck caromed behind Richter for Beukeboom. But his clearing attempt around the boards was stopped by Driver, who gave to Richer. With a bullet of a centering pass to the crease with 11.2 seconds left, Richer set the stage for the most fitting, frantic regulation finish to The NHL’s Greatest Series Ever that anyone could have dreamt up.
“Time stood still,” said Joe Benigno.
On his knees, Richter frantically reached to cover the puck as Zelepukin took a whack at it to keep it loose. With 8.4 seconds left, the puck magically appeared back on Zelepukin’s stick, and he shoved it past Richter’s left skate and past the goal line, as Lemieux jumped straight up in the air behind Richter in a classic photo pose frozen in time. McCreary, from his position behind the net, pointed to the puck in the net; his outstretched arm was like a dagger into the hearts of Rangers fans everywhere.
It was a goal.
Suddenly, it was a 1–1 game with just…
“Seven point seven seconds left. Unreal.”
“Yep, 7.7. Never forget it.”
“Oh yes, 7.7 seconds left. Will never forget those numbers.”
“See what I mean? Cursed. 7.7 seconds.”
Those were the words of Neil Smith, Steve Levy, Mike Miller, and Howie Rose, respectively, who all had different reactions to one of the most clutch goals in NHL history. As they so eloquently stated, with 7.7 seconds left, Zelepukin got around Leetch and buried his second chance at glory, stunning the Garden faithful and setting off a turn of events that could only fit this series and none other.
Richter, the model of calm and confidence, simply lost his cool after the goal was scored. Believing he was the victim of a quick whistle just before that faceoff, he surely wanted a whistle when he thought he had frozen Zelepukin’s first attempt. Richter pushed himself to his feet in frustration as the Devils celebrated in front of him and raced toward McCreary behind the net. His momentum actually carried him into the referee, giving him a push up against the boards.
“Richter came right out and bodied McCreary against the glass. There was no mistake about it,” said hockey historian Stan Fischler. “It either should have been a 2:00 penalty or a misconduct. In the end, it was nothing. He escaped with nothing. It was a terrific break that the Rangers got.”
McCreary knew it, too. In a story that Richter later confirmed, McCreary, with 7.7 seconds left and the ensuing faceoff at center ice, told Richter quite simply, “You owe me one.”
“It’s all irrelevant now,” Fischler said. “But it should have been called. It’s all an aspect to the business, and you live with it. Things fell right for the Rangers there, no question, and that was it.”
The frustration, though, boiled over to the stands, as one might expect. As passionate as the Rangers fans are, sometimes that works against them, and it did here.
“There were so many people broadcasting the game, we had to broadcast from the auxiliary press box,” Miller said. “And that was right in the stands, with the fans right there. We were in a plywood box, and the Devils team broadcasters did that game from the seats. We will never forget that, trust me. So, I call Zele’s goal with 7.7 seconds left, and the looks, and the deafening silence from the crowd, was unreal. But it was such a big goal, I had to be loud. Well, that didn’t go over well, as there was debris thrown at me from the fans. It was a sad scene. But can you remember a bigger moment in Devils history, at that time, than the Zelepukin goal? It was so big. It kept them alive. I had to call it the way I saw it.”
After the goal, a surprised, jubilant Zelepukin fell on top of Leetch, but got right back up and was mobbed by his teammates.
“I remember being in front of the net with Claude. We had been locked up together so many times that season, and we knew what each other were going to do. We always had confrontations and battles, and usually he’d try to knock me from my spot with a little cross-check, so I was aware of that, and tried to prepare for that,” Leetch said. “So, I angled myself in a spot where—it’s just unbelievable—the puck went through both of us. I tried to whack at it, and then I could not believe there was someone on my back side. I was so worried about Lemieux, and there was Zelepukin. Unbelievable. I just looked up in disbelief at myself. I couldn’t believe that happened, that I missed that puck with 7.7 seconds left.”
Richter concurred.
“For me, what I was thinking, just prior to that, I had made a save and tried to move the puck, and tried to move it quickly, and so I was disappointed because I thought the whistle was too fast,” he said. “It created a faceoff in our zone at a critical time, and I wasn’t happy about that. When [McCreary] made that quick whistle, I thought he might do it again. On that play, eventually the puck comes to the net, and Zelepukin gets in one clear shot, and I stopped it just under the pad. But there was no whistle! And then came a couple more whacks at it, and eventually it went in. Realistically, more than anything, we were in shock that it went in with that much time left. That moment is unforgettable, and it was incredibly deflating.”
Obviously, that scene was played out in several circles.
“When he scored with 7.7 seconds left, I said, ‘There’s no way they’re winning this game,’” Benigno said. “This was Rangers Hockey for you. It couldn’t be worse than this, to blow this series in the worst possible way.”
Meanwhile, the Devils bench was alive in a way no one had seen since the first period of Game 6.
“We had the momentum,” Lemieux said. “We had to carry it into the locker room and back out for overtime.”
Before that, of course, there was an anticlimactic faceoff at center ice. As the final seconds ticked away, the fans could do little but look at one another, searching for answers. On the ESPN telecast, a fan could be heard, clear as day, ask, “Do you believe it?” That, of course, was Thorne’s line from the game before, when Messier completed his hat trick in New Jersey.
The answer on this night, for many, was no.
“Can you believe this?” Clement asked with a laugh on the air. “Honestly, there have been more momentum swings, more changes of pace in this series than I have ever seen. And I thought, perhaps, we were done with them.”
At that point, that same fan in the background said, “Now, it’s anyone’s game.”
Indeed, regulation had ended. The Rangers had a 27–24 lead in shots, but the score was tied at 1–1.
Destiny was derailed, and the Devils were alive…for the time being.
“And the chants of ‘19-40,’” Thorne said, “are not dead yet.”