Jacques Lemaire and his suffocating defensive system helped transform the Devils from an NHL also-ran to a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
In 1993, Rangers GM Neil Smith hired Mike Keenan to take over as head coach. The pair had only one goal: to bring the Stanley Cup back to New York for the first time since 1940.
Mark Messier was traded to the Rangers in 1991, becoming the latest in a long line of sports stars that arrived in New York with championship expectations.
Defenseman Brian Leetch anchored New York’s back line and matched his career high with 23 goals in 1993–94.
In his first season as the Rangers’ top goaltender, Mike Richter posted 42 wins and led the team to the best record in the NHL. (AP Images)
Goaltender Martin Brodeur won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 1993–94.
Devils captain Scott Stevens posted 18 goals and 60 assists in 1993–94, leading New Jersey in points.
After being part of the trade that sent Mark Messier to New York, forward Bernie Nicholls landed in New Jersey and adopted the team’s defensive mind-set.
In Game 1, a wrist shot by Stephane Richer (44) in double overtime gave the visiting Devils the series lead and shocked the Madison Square Garden crowd into stunned silence.
Desperate for a win to even the series, the Rangers swarmed Martin Brodeur in Game 2 and won 4–0. (AP Images)
The two teams again needed double overtime to decide Game 3. The winning goal came courtesy of New York’s Stephane Matteau, who slid a loose puck past Martin Brodeur at 6:13. (AP Images)
After New Jersey won Games 4 and 5 to push the Rangers to the brink, Mark Messier issued his legendary guarantee before Game 6, then put on a heroic, three-goal performance that sent the series to a deciding seventh game. (AP Images)
Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! Stephane Matteau’s second double-overtime winner of the series sent the Rangers on to the Stanley Cup Finals…
…and sent Chris Terreri, Bruce Driver, and the rest of the Devils home for the summer.
A little more than two weeks after The NHL’s Greatest Series Ever, Mark Messier and the Rangers finally broke the franchise’s 54-year Stanley Cup drought.
Just 375 days later, Scott Stevens and the Devils redeemed themselves and celebrated the first Stanley Cup victory in franchise history.