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It was eighteen years ago to the day when the New Jersey Devils, leading the Rangers 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals, blew a 2-0 lead to Mark Messier--he of "The Guarantee" fame--and their cross-river rivals and lost a chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Rangers won a decisive Game 7 at the Garden in double OT to move on to what would eventually be their first championship in 783 years (math might be off). It was a moment that became the stuff of legend for Rangers Nation and has haunted Devils fans who have woken up shivering in the night with echos of a certain player's name being shouted repeatedly by the play-by-play announcer reverberating in our heads.
Midway through the 2nd period of tonight's Game 6 at The Rock, the Rangers seemed to be evoking history. After falling behind 2-0 as a result of an ass-kicking 1st period display by Jersey, the blueshirts were at it again, eliminating a lead (as they'd done in Game 5) and tilting the ice in their favor. A tightly-checked 3rd would lead to an extra stanza, and the Rangers were one goal away from forcing a Game 7 in their building (where they've played two Game 7s previously these playoffs and, obviously, won both) and repeating history. But then, sixty-three seconds into the overtime period...
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