Curse of 1940 - The Islanders

The Islanders

Further information: New York Islanders, 1950 Stanley Cup Finals, 1972 Stanley Cup Finals, and 1979 Stanley Cup Finals

The Rangers struggled for several years after World War II; after their 1950 Finals appearance they only made the playoffs six times in 17 seasons. In 1972, they reached the Stanley Cup Finals again, only to lose to the Boston Bruins of Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. The next season began with the founding of an expansion team playing on Long Island, the New York Islanders. In 1974–75, the Islanders qualified for the playoffs for the first time and defeated the Rangers. The two teams squared off again in 1978–79, this time with the Rangers emerging victorious. They went on to lose the 1979 Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens, who claimed their fourth Stanley Cup in a row.

The Islanders won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 1980, beginning their own streak of four consecutive championships, one more than the Rangers had won in their entire 57-year history to that point (after 1983 the Isles had only existed for 11 years). During the Islanders' second Cup run, in 1981, the Islanders swept the Rangers in the second round. During that series, fans of the younger franchise taunted the Rangers by chanting "1940!" This chant caught on around the league. It was also in the 1980s that the idea of a "Curse of 1940" began to take hold, with Red Dutton's death in 1987 and the occasional publication of the photograph of the Garden mortgage being burned in the Cup's bowl (the third Garden was demolished after the Rangers and Knicks moved into the current Garden in 1968). Also, in 1982, the Colorado Rockies moved to suburban East Rutherford, New Jersey and became the New Jersey Devils, giving the Rangers a second rival in the New York metropolitan area.

In 1991–92, the Rangers finished with the best overall record in the NHL, earning them their first of two Presidents' Trophies, but they lost to the defending Cup champion (and eventual champions) Pittsburgh Penguins in the Patrick Division Finals. Although the Penguins were defending champions, and their victory was hardly a shocking one, an odd moment came when Rangers goaltender Mike Richter allowed a shot from the blue line by Pittsburgh's Ron Francis by him. The next season, with hopes high, the Rangers finished last in the Patrick Division, largely because of an injury to defenseman Brian Leetch. In the kind of incident many fans ascribe to curses, Leetch arrived at the Garden in a taxi, stepped out, and broke his ankle when he slipped on a patch of ice, a most ironic injury for a hockey player.