Wednesday, May 30 Rangers not foiled again By Joy Russo ESPN.com Mark Messier was brought to the Rangers for one reason only - to deliver a championship. It took three seasons with the club before the former Oiler even gave New York a chance at the Stanley Cup. After surviving a grueling seven-game conference final for the ages against the New Jersey Devils, the No. 1 Rangers were ready for the No. 14 (overall) Canucks in the finals and looked for their first title since 1940. Rangers 4, Canucks 3 Date Result Goalie 5/31 Canucks 3, Rangers 2 McLean 6/2 Rangers 3, Canucks 1 Richter 6/4 Rangers 5, Canucks 1 Richter 6/7 Rangers 4, Canucks 2 Richter 6/9 Canucks 6, Rangers 3 McLean 6/11 Canucks 4, Rangers 1 McLean 6/14 Rangers 3, Canucks 2 Richter But Vancouver made an impressive run of its own. After winning three straight overtime games to take the opener vs. Calgary, the Canucks needed just five games to oust Dallas and Toronto to earn a date with the Rangers. Things didn't start the way New York wanted it to – the Blueshirts were sent into overtime at Madison Square Garden in the Cup finals opener. Offensive defenseman Brian Leetch took a shot from the slot that hit the crossbar, and with the Ranger caught deep, the Canucks scored on the following rush to win 3-2. The Rangers rebounded and resembled the team that earned the Presidents' Trophy. New York won the next three games to take a commanding lead in the series and gave the Rangers a chance to win the Cup on home ice for the first time. 1940. No curses? Well, for the next two games, Vancouver made history look pretty consistent as far as the Rangers were concerned. New York scored three goals in a 5:35 span in the third period of Game 5 to tie the score at 3. 1940. The Canucks took advantage of many 3-on-2 rushes and scored three more before it was all over to send the series back to Vancouver and give New York fans more to think about. The Rangers came outlooked flat in Game 6 and were beat 4-1 to force a decisive Game 7. 1940. Would it happen again? The turnaround Before the Rangers took the ice, Rangers coach Mike Keenan delivered a speech that Messier called "the most powerful" he had ever heard. Whether it was the speech or not, New York came out and took a 3-1 lead after two periods. But the Canucks would not stop. Vancouver scored on a power play at 4:16 of the third and the Rangers had too much time on their hands. Even when the last minute of regulation came, it wasn't easy for New York. It took three faceoffs, after icing calls in the final 38.7 seconds, to finally win it. Messier took the first two, and Craig MacTavish took the last one with 1.1 seconds on the clock. Then, it was Garden mayhem. No more 1940. Messier and the Rangers had delivered. The MVP Brian Leetch won the Conn Smythe Trophy, but Mike Richter gets a nod here. The pinnacle of his career, the Rangers goaltender was simply brilliant in the playoffs, especially in Game 7. He made 28 saves, including a trio of key stops on Cliff Ronning, Greg Adams and Geoff Courtnall late in the second period. Richter finished with a 16-7 postseason record and a 2.07 GAA. He also posted four shutouts. Joy Russo is a staff editor for ESPN.com Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories