A Look Back; Game One of the '94 Eastern Conference Finals

Eighteen years ago tomorrow the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils began one of the most talked about playoff series in the history of hockey. We all know how it ended with the famous radio call of Howie Rose yelling Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!, but let's look at the games that lead up to that moment.

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Game 1- The Rangers and Devils began their series on a Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. It was a game that most people have probably forgotten about, especially the Ranger fans. Let's jump straight to the end of regulation. The Rangers had a 3-2 lead after goals by Steve Larmer, Sergei Nemchinov, and Sergei Zubov, but they could not hold off the Devils late push.

With time running down in the third period, Claude Lemieux shoveled a shot by Mike Richter and tied the game at 3. It sent Game 1 into overtime, and sent a silencing message the Garden crowd.

The Rangers and Devils played a scoreless first overtime, and fifteen minutes into the second one, Stephane Richer took a pass down the side boards, beat Adam Graves wide, and beat Mike Richter over the shoulder.

Game 1 was a memorable one for Devils fans, as the Devils shocked the Rangers by scoring late in the third period, and then delivering the winning goal off the stick of Stephan Richer.

The Devils had all the momentum, took a 1-0 series lead, and home ice from the top seeded Rangers. The Rangers looked to bounce back after the Game 1 loss in Game 2 on May 17th.