| 1994 Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * game decided in overtime | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location(s) | New York City: Madison Square Garden (1, 2, 5, 7) Vancouver: Pacific Coliseum (3, 4, 6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | New York: Mike Keenan Vancouver: Pat Quinn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | New York: Mark Messier Vancouver: Trevor Linden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthems | New York: John Amirante Vancouver: Richard Loney (3) John Reynolds (4, 6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Terry Gregson (1, 4, 7) Bill McCreary (2, 6) Andy Van Hellemond (3, 5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | May 31 – June 14, 1994 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Brian Leetch (Rangers) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | Mark Messier(13:29, second, G7)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Rangers: Glenn Anderson (2008) Brian Leetch (2009) Kevin Lowe (2020) Mark Messier (2007) Sergei Zubov (2019) Canucks: Pavel Bure (2012) Coaches: Pat Quinn (2016) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (National): ESPN (New York City area): MSG Network (1–3, 6–7), MSG II (4–5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | (CBC) Bob Cole, Harry Neale, and Dick Irvin Jr. (SRC) Claude Quenneville and Gilles Tremblay (ESPN) Gary Thorne and Bill Clement (MSG/MSGII) Sam Rosen and John Davidson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1994 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks were making the club's second Finals appearance, their first coming during their Cinderella run of 1982, and the Rangers were making their tenth appearance, their first since 1979. The Rangers, despite losing a 3-1 series lead, ended their then record 54-year championship drought with a victory in Game 7 to claim the long-awaited Stanley Cup. It was their fourth championship in franchise history.
The CBC broadcast of the deciding game seven attracted an average Canadian audience of 4.957 million viewers, making it the most watched CBC Sports program in history to that time.[2][3] This was the last Stanley Cup Finals with games played in Canada until 2004, and the last to go the full seven games until 2001.
The Rangers’ victory marked the start of what is currently thirty consecutive victories in the Stanley Cup Finals for American-based teams, as the most recent Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup were the Montreal Canadiens in the previous season.
- ^ Messier watches 1994 Stanley Cup win on YouTube
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
CBCViewershipwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ McKay, John (February 22, 2002). "Despite Some Critics, CBC Enjoys Praise and More Than Six million Olympics Viewers". Canadian Press.
The women's gold medal game was a huge ratings hit, drawing...4.54 million...The CBC says its highest rated sports program was Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup between the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. That averaged 4.97 million.