Curse of 1940 - End of The Curse

End of The Curse

Further information: 1993–94 New York Rangers season and 1994 Stanley Cup Finals

By 1993–94, the Rangers had not won the Stanley Cup in 54 years. In that time, championships had been won in the New York area by the Islanders (four), the New York Yankees (fourteen), the New York Mets (two), the New York Giants baseball team (one, and they had been in San Francisco since 1958), the Brooklyn Dodgers (one, and they had been in Los Angeles since 1958), the New York Giants football team (three), the New York Jets (one), the New York Knicks (two NBA titles) and the New Jersey Nets (two ABA titles, playing as the New York Nets). All five of the other Original Six teams collected Stanley Cups since 1940: the Canadiens 20 times, including the previous year; the Maple Leafs 10 times, but none since 1967; Detroit five times, but none since 1955; Boston three times, but none since 1972, and the Black Hawks once, in 1961.

The Rangers stormed through the 1993–94 regular season, scoring 112 points en route to clinching their second Presidents' Trophy in three years. They swept aside the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs and defeated the Washington Capitals in five games in the second round before meeting the Devils (whom they had beaten in the 1992 Patrick Division Semifinals) in the Eastern Conference Finals. Devils fans had picked up the "1940!" chant and the curse myth from Islander fans, and curiously, the hockey seating capacity of the Devils' home arena, the Brendan Byrne Arena (later renamed the Continental Airlines Arena and then Izod Center), was 19,040. With the Rangers trailing the series three games to two and facing elimination, it looked as though the curse was at work again. However, Rangers captain Mark Messier challenged the New York media by offering a "guaranteed" win in Game 6: "We know we're going in there to win Game 6 and bringing it back for Game 7. We feel we can win it and we feel we are going to win it." The New York Post and The New York Daily News both carried back pages offering Messier's guarantee: "We'll Win Tonight." Rangers' coach Mike Keenan said of the guarantee: "Mark was sending a message to his teammates that he believed together we could win. He put on an amazing performance to make sure it happened."

The Rangers quickly fell behind 2-0, but trailing 2-1 in the third period, Messier scored a natural hat trick (three straight goals) to make good on his guarantee and force a deciding seventh game. The curse threatened again in Game 7 as the Rangers led 1-0 and looked as though they were about to advance to the Cup Finals when New Jersey's Valeri Zelepukin scored with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game. But in the second overtime, Stephane Matteau scored to give the Rangers the game and the series.

The Rangers moved on to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks and took a 3-2 lead late in the third period of the deciding seventh game. They shot the puck down the length of the ice with seven seconds left. Thinking the game was over, the Rangers poured onto the ice celebration. However, the Canucks touched the puck to stop play with 1.1 seconds left in regulation. The officials reset the clock to 1.6 seconds and ordered a faceoff in the Rangers' zone. Messier and Craig MacTavish conferred and came up with a gambit to ensure the Rangers' win. Both of them, deciding that the officials wouldn't call a penalty at such a dramatic moment, committed fouls on the final drop of the puck as first Messier, then MacTavish whacked and cross-checked Vancouver's star forward Pavel Bure.

The CBC broadcast of Game 7 attracted an average Canadian audience of 4.957 million viewers, making it the most-watched CBC Sports program in history at the time, a record since eclipsed by the men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2002 Winter Olympics, when Canada won its first Olympic ice hockey gold medal since the 1952 Winter Olympics, which drew 10.6 million. CBC commentator Bob Cole, who called both games, said that Game 7 was one of his most memorable TV games.