Fan Displays Iconic Vintage Newspaper From 1994 Playoffs at Rangers-Panthers Game 6

June 2, 2024 Jimm Sallivan

As a franchise nearly seven decades older than their Eastern Conference finals opponents, the New York Rangers have more than their fair share of ghosts to call forth at any given time.

On Saturday night, they did just that ahead of a must-win Game 6 against the Florida Panthers.

Before the Rangers and Panthers’ showdown, ABC’s cameras found a young rinkside fan at Amerant Bank Arena holding up a copy of The New York Post. It wasn’t just any copy, however—it was a perfectly preserved copy from May 25, 1994.

“We’ll win tonight,” reads the headline, paraphrasing New York forward Mark Messier’s famous guarantee before the Rangers’ Eastern Conference finals-tying 4–2 win over the New Jersey Devils.

THIS RANGERS FAN HELD UP AN ORIGINAL COPY OF “THE GUARANTEE” HEADLINE FROM 1994 😱🔥 pic.twitter.com/c5SllDT3j6

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 2, 2024

New York went on to beat the Devils in Game 7, and won the Stanley Cup over the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.

In the 30 years since, the Rangers have yet to win hockey’s biggest prize.

4 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Oilers Coach Shades Panthers Ahead of Stanley Cup Final By Dropping NFL Reference

The Edmonton Oilers punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006. Awaiting them on the NHL's biggest stage is the Florida Panthers, who also represented the Eastern Conference last year.

Does the Panthers' Stanley Cup Final experience give them an edge over the Oilers? Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch doesn't believe it does.

"Experience is good. I don't know how much experience is beneficial," Knoblauch said. "You'd have to ask the Buffalo Bills how important Super Bowl experience is."

Knoblauch is referencing the Bills' infamous run in the early 1990s. Buffalo made four straight Super Bowls from 1991 to '94 but lost all of them. Although the Bills went 49–15 in the regular season over that span, every campaign ended in the same fashion—a loss in the big game to an NFC East team in the New York Giants, Washington and the Dallas Cowboys (twice).

The Panthers have made five straight playoff appearances and advanced to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, only to fall in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Florida will be chasing its first Stanley Cup in franchise history this summer while the Oilers attempt to end Canada's 31-year drought without a title.

"I think the biggest thing is just having confidence to play," Knoblauch said. "When our guys are playing our best, they should have a lot of confidence."

The puck is scheduled to drop in Game 1 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

11 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Every Seven-Game Stanley Cup Final Series in History

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is one of the most exhilarating scenes in sports, and NHL fans will certainly be hoping to see the championship clash between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers go the distance this year.

Throughout Stanley Cup Playoff history, seven-game series have been a fairly regular occurrence. Since 1939, when the NHL adopted the best-of-seven format, there have been 196 game sevens. Included in that tally is 17 in the Stanley Cup Final, and seven since the turn of the century.

We'll take a look at each of the 17 seven-game series in Stanley Cup Final history:

YEAR	MATCHUP
1942	Toronto Maple Leafs def. Detroit Red Wings, 3–1
1945	Toronto Maple Leafs def. Detroit Red Wings, 2–1
1950	Detroit Red Wings def. New York Rangers, 4–3 (2OT)
1954	Detroit Red Wings def. Montreal Canadiens, 2–1 (OT)
1955	Detroit Red Wings def. Montreal Canadiens, 3–1
1964	Toronto Maple Leafs def. Detroit Red Wings, 4–0
1965	Montreal Canadiens def. Chicago Black Hawks, 4–0
1971	Montreal Canadiens def. Chicago Black Hawks, 3–2
1987	Edmonton Oilers def. Philadelphia Flyers, 3–1
1994	New York Rangers def. Vancouver Canucks, 3–2
2001	Colorado Avalanche def. New Jersey Devils, 3–1
2003	New Jersey Devils def. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 3–0
2004	Tampa Bay Lightning def. Calgary Flames, 2–1
2006	Carolina Hurricanes def. Edmonton Oilers, 3–1
2009	Pittsburgh Penguins def. Detroit Red Wings, 2–1
2011	Boston Bruins def. Vancouver Canucks, 4–0
2019	St. Louis Blues def. Boston Bruins, 4–1

The last time the Stanley Cup Final went the distance was in 2019, when the St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 7, 4–1, courtesy of goals from Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan O'Reilly, Brayden Schenn and Zach Sanford.

Of the 17 winner-take-all games since 1939 in the Stanley Cup Final, only twice has the game-winning goal occurred in overtime. Both of the two overtime goals were scored by the Detroit Red Wings, in 1950 and '54, respectively. The Red Wings were involved in each of the first six Game 7s under the current format of the Stanley Cup Final, winning three of them.

9 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Los Angeles Station Misidentifies Florida Panthers as Carolina Panthers on Newscast

The NHL's Florida Panthers and NFL's Carolina Panthers came into existence around the same time—the teams began play in 1993 and 1995, respectively—but they sit at opposite ends of the success spectrum in 2024.

The hockey Panthers, after Saturday’s Game 1 victory, are three wins away from their first Stanley Cup title. The football Panthers are licking their wounds after a 2–15 season, their worst since going 1–15 in 2001.

However, differences in fortunes have never stopped some sports fans from mistaking the two teams for each other. It happened again Saturday in Los Angeles, when KABC-TV put up a graphic depicting the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Panthers meeting in the Stanley Cup finals.

KABC in Los Angeles was getting viewers ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and -- Carolina Panthers? pic.twitter.com/asevhg8ZmC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2024

Credit to the anchor here for proceeding as if nothing was amiss—gamely avoiding the urge to throw whoever handled the graphic under the bus.

Interestingly, the Oilers' last trip to the Stanley Cup finals saw them meet the Carolina Hurricanes, to whom they lost the 2006 championship series four games to three.

US Sports News

Fan Displays Iconic Vintage Newspaper From 1994 Playoffs at Rangers-Panthers Game 6

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Jimm Sallivan