1994 Stanley Cup Finals The 1994 Stanley Cup Finals were held from May 31 to June 14 between the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Rangers . The Rangers ended their 54 - year drought with a seven - game series win . Background . Both teams took a difficult path to the Finals . The Canucks had faced a 3 - 1 deficit against the Calgary Flames , but then won the final three games in overtime . The decisive contest ended in double overtime , with Pavel Bure scoring the winning goal on a breakaway . They then beat the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs in five games each to capture the Western Conference title . The Rangers swept the New York Islanders and beat the Washington Capitals in five games , before falling behind 3 games to 2 in the the Eastern Conference Final against New Jersey . They then won game 6 by a 4 - 2 score after Mark Messier publically guaranteed a victory and then scored a hat trick , and won game 7 2 - 1 on Stephane Matteau ' s goal in double overtime . It was Matteau ' s second overtime goal of the series . The Series . The Rangers scored early in game 1 and led 2 - 1 late in the 3rd period before Martin Gelinas tied the game with 1 : 00 to play in regulation time . It was the third time in eight games that the Rangers had surrendered a last - minute tying goal . The Rangers were all over the Canucks in overtime , but goaltender Kirk McLean played spectacularly , making 52 saves on the night . In the last minute of the 1st overtime , Brian Leetch pinched and took a shot that hit the cross - bar and the Canucks went back the other way on an odd - man rush and Greg Adams scored to claim the game for the Canucks . The Rangers evened the series with a 3 - 1 victory in Game 2 before the series shifted west . The Canucks came storming out in front of their home fans in Game 3 and Pavel Bure scored on his first shift to give them the early lead . But late in the period , with the score tied 1 - 1 , Bure accidentally hit Jay Wells in the face with his stick and cut him , leading to a major penalty and Bure ' s expulsion from the game . Glenn Anderson scored on the ensuing power - play and then cruised to a 5 - 1 victory . In Game 4 , the Canucks again jumped out to an early lead , this time 2 - 0 , before Mike Richter and Brian Leetch took over the game . Richter made some key saves to keep the game within reach , including one on a penalty shot against Pavel Bure , and Leetch picked up a goal and three assists as the Rangers won 4 - 2 and headed back home with a commanding 3 - 1 series lead . Most who entered Madison Square Garden for the fifth game thought they were going to see the Rangers win the Cup that night , but the Canucks had overcome a 3 - 1 deficit already in the 1994 playoffs and held a 1 - 0 lead after 2 periods . They extended it to 3 - 0 early in the 3rd before the Rangers stormed back with 3 goals in 6 minutes to tie the game . It looked like the momentum had shifted , but just 29 seconds after Mark Messier ' s tying goal , Dave Babych scored to regain the lead for the Canucks . They added 2 more in a wild 8 - goal 3rd period to win 6 - 3 and take the series back home with a chance to tie it . The Canucks fired 14 shots at Mike Richter in the first period of Game 6 and led 1 - 0 on a Jeff Brown bullet from the point . The score was 2 - 1 after 2 periods before another Brown goal gave the Canucks a 3 - 1 3rd period lead . Late in the 3rd , Geoff Courtnall appeared to score for the Canucks , but the play continued and the Rangers scored to temporarily make the score 3 - 2 . But , in the ensuing video review , it was confirmed that Courtnall had indeed scored his 2nd goal of the game to clinch the game for the Canucks and send the series to a seventh game . On June 14 , 1994 , the Canucks and Rangers played only the second Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final since 1971 . The Rangers were all over the Canucks in the first period and took a 2 - 0 lead on goals by Brian Leetch and Adam Graves . In the second period , the Canucks finally came to life , thanks to a brilliant individual effort from team captain Trevor Linden , who beat two Rangers and Mike Richter on a delayed penalty to cut the deficit to 2 - 1 . But , after a couple of questionable ( in the opinion of Canucks coach Pat Quinn ) penalty calls against the Canucks by referee Terry Gregson , Mark Messier scored a power - play marker late in the 2nd to give the Rangers a 3 - 1 lead . In the 3rd period , the Canucks really began to attack . Pavel Bure just about broke in alone but was pulled down by Esa Tikkanen and on the ensuing power - play , Trevor Linden scored his 2nd of the night to bring the Canucks back to within a goal . After that , Mike Richter was called upon to make several spectacular saves . With about six minutes to play , Nathan Lafayette hit the goal post , but the Canucks didn ' t manage to score again , and the Rangers managed to hold on and win the Cup . Coverage . Television : ESPN ( United States , except New York City market and in border cities ) : Gary Thorne , Bill Clement . < br > CBC ( Canada - English ) : Bob Cole , Harry Neale , Dick Irvin , Jr . < br > SRC ( Canada - French ) < br > MSG ( New York market ) : Sam Rosen , John Davidson . < br > Radio : New York : Howie Rose , Sal Messina . < br > Vancouver : Jim Robson , Tom Larscheid . 1993 - 94 New York Rangers . Mark Messier ( captain ) , Brian Leetch , Kevin Lowe , Adam Graves , Steve Larmer , Glenn Anderson , Jeff Beukeboom , Greg Gilbert , Mike Hartman , Glenn Healy , Mike Hudson , Alexander Karpovtsev , Joe Kocur , Alexei Kovalev , Nick Kypreos , Doug Lidster , Stephane Matteau , Craig MacTavish , Sergei Nemchinov , Brian Noonan , Ed Olczyk , Mike Richter , Esa Tikkanen , Jay Wells , Sergei Zubov , Mike Keenan ( coach ) , Neil Smith ( general manager )