1994 STANLEY CUP RUN: SPECIAL INSERT
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Pavel Bure celebrates with Greg Adams and Dave Babych after eliminating Calgary in overtime. For the fifth time in 13 years, the Canucks and Flames would face off in the first round. The series opened on April 18 at the Olympic Saddledome. After a scoreless first period, Cliff Ronning opened the scoring in the second on a persistent effort in front of the net. The floodgates then opened, and with 10 minutes to play, the Canucks lead 5-0. Though the scoring was done, the action was not. The teams roughed it up in the late going, setting the stage for Game 2, which was probably the dirtiest game of the series. Gary Roberts ran Kirk McLean several times and scored twice. Neither McLean nor Mike Vernon got a lot of support from their teams in this one, and the final score was 7-5 for the Flames. As the series shifted to Vancouver, many speculated that Flames' Coach Dave King might start Trevor Kidd in Game 3. Kidd had played well against Vancouver during the season, and Vernon had surrendered five goals in back-to-back games. King went with Vernon, and he responded by making 36 saves on the night. The game was still scoreless after two periods, but the Flames outscored the Canucks 4-2 in the third period to take a 2-1 series lead. Two nights later, Vernon was again the story. The Canucks lead 2-1 after two but the Flames struck twice early in the third to take the lead. Trevor Linden finally managed to beat Vernon late in the period but hit the post behind him, and the expression on his face represented the frustration that all Canucks fans were feeling at the moment. Vernon's 42-save performance gave the Flames a chance to end the series at home. In Game 5, Linden moved to center after Craven was injured the previous game, and he would maintain that position through the rest of the playoffs. Pavel Bure (scoring his first of the series) and Wes Walz traded goals in the first eight minutes, and then McLean and Vernon slammed the doors shut. There would not be another goal until the 7:15 mark of overtime, when Geoff Courtnall blasted a shot while streaking down the left wing over Vernon's catching glove, reminding fans of the goal that Wayne Gretzky had scored from the very same spot six years earlier.
• Listen - Geoff Courtnall scoring the overtime winner in Game 5.
In Game 6 the Flames twice took the lead, and Canucks twice tied it back up. D Gerald Diduck's goal, a slapshot from the point at 19:56 of the second period, was the last of regulation time. The teams played through three-quarters of an overtime period without any terrific scoring chances when a poor change at the Calgary bench resulted in a too many men on the ice penalty. The Canucks wasted little time capitalizing. After Pat Quinn called a time-out, Linden won the draw and Bure blasted a shot toward the net that was tipped by Jyrki Lumme. Vernon saved it, but Linden picked up the rebound and backhanded it through a sprawled Vernon and into the net to even the series at three each.
• Listen - Trevor Linden scoring the overtime winner in Game 6.
Five years earlier, these teams had gone back to Calgary for Game 7. On April 30, they were doing it again. The Canucks built a 2-1 lead but nearly identical second-period goals by Theoren Fleury (wrist shots from the right wing) gave the Flames a 3-2 lead headed to the third. The Flames went for the kill, but McLean made several saves (including one from point-blank range off of German Titov) to keep his team within a goal. As the minutes wound down, the Canucks started putting some pressure on Vernon, but he showed no cracks in his armor. With less than three minutes to play, Greg Adams picked up the puck in the corner and worked his way to the front of the net, and tried a backhander that hit Vernon's pad and fell to the ice. Ever so slowly, the puck inched toward the goal line and, before the goalie could rescue it, it crossed the line for the tying goal.
• Listen - Greg Adams tying Game 7 at 3-3 with 3:37 left.
Just like in 1989, Game 7 was now in overtime. Both teams get great chances but both goalies are equal to the tasks. With less than nine minutes to play, the Canucks apply pressure and Murzyn pinches, which allows Roberts to chip the puck past him, creating an odd-man rush. Fleury is once again in full flight down the right wing, and McLean plays him to shoot. But, instead, Fleury passes the puck past the outstretched Lumme onto the stick of Robert Reichel, who one-times a shot at the unguarded side of the net. It looks like the season is over for sure, but out of nowhere comes McLean's left pad to kick the puck away. So sure was he of the goal that the goal judge turned on the red light, which drew some negative reaction from Quinn at the bench. The save quickly became known around BC as the "Save of the Century".
• Listen - Kirk McLean making the greatest save of his career on Robert Reichel in OT of Game 7.
The game went to a second overtime period, and in the third minute, Jeff Brown made a pass from his blueline up to the far blueline onto the stick of Bure, who was in full flight. In all alone, Bure faked to his backhand and pulled the puck to his forehand, wrapping the puck around the outstretched pad of Vernon and into the net for the series-winning goal. In hot pursuit of Bure was Zarley Zalapski, who crashed into Vernon and the two of them followed the puck into the net. Bure threw his stick and gloves into the air before being mobbed by his teammates. Not only had the Canucks erased a 1-3 deficit in games, but had won all three in overtime! As is so often the case, though, there was no time to celebrate. The Canucks would open up the second round in Dallas two nights later.
• Listen - Pavel Bure scoring the series winner in overtime against Mike Vernon.
As they had in 1982 when Los Angeles beat Edmonton, the Canucks were once again the benefactors of a huge first-round upset. Had heavily favoured Detroit beaten underdog San Jose in the first round, the Canucks would have been playing at Joe Louis Arena on May 2. However, the Sharks won in seven games, pitting the Canucks against the Dallas Stars. After such an emotional high less than 48 hours ago, one would expect an emotional let down when beginning a new series. But the Canucks, still in high gear, rushed out to a 4-1 lead on the Stars, who had swept St. Louis in the first round and had been sitting around getting cold for a week. The Stars came back, though, tying the game early in the third period. Perhaps the Stars had now found their legs, and fatigue was setting in on the Canucks. But with just over six minutes to play, Nathan LaFayette won a face-off in the Dallas zone and LW Martin Gelinas rifled a shot past Darcy Wakaluk to give the lead back to Vancouver. 5-4 was the final score. If any had thought the Canucks had been lucky to win Game 1, they changed their minds after the second game. According to Captain Trevor Linden, Pavel Bure had his best game of the entire playoff run on this night. He scored twice and sent Stars' tough-guy Shane Churla tumbling to the ice with a thundering check. No penalty was given on the hit, but the NHL fined Bure $500 for raising his elbow too high.
• Listen - Pavel Bure knocking out Shane Churla of the Dallas Stars.
The Canucks won 3-0, and they now had the Stars on the ropes with the next three games being in Vancouver. The Canucks lead 3-1 but, to their credit, the Stars came back again and didn't let this one get away. 4-3 was the final score and the Stars were back in the series. In Game 4 the teams traded goals through 40 minutes and then the Stars dominated the third period, determined to even the series. To lose this game would be to squander the huge advantage the Canucks had earned by winning the first two games on the road. Whatever Pat Quinn said to his troops in the intermission before overtime, it worked. The Canucks came out flying, forcing Andy Moog to make several game-saving stops. Finally, at the 11:00 mark, Sergio Momesso fought through a check in the slot and raised a shot over Moog's left shoulder for the winning goal.
• Listen - Sergio Momesso giving Vancouver a 3-1 series lead with an overtime goal.
The Canucks smelled victory in Game 5 and weren't about to let it get away. The series-clinching goal was scored by Pavel Bure on yet another keeper for the highlight reels. The final score was 4-2 and the fans sang away the last few minutes in traditional fashion and remained in standing ovation for over twenty minutes past the final horn.
• Listen - Quinn on round two and the Western Conference Final.
It was now the Canucks' turn to wait. Their opponent in the third round would be the winner of the Toronto-San Jose series, which went the distance. In the end, Toronto won and the Western Conference Finals opened up at Maple Leaf Gardens on May 16. Hockey Night In Canada was using a new innovation in this series, the "NetCam". A remote-control operated camera attached to the back post of the net. Unfortunately, this camera was not available to video replay officials, who were unable to see a puck cross the goal line behind Felix Potvin from any of their angles. The "NetCam" clearly showed the puck in the net, and this was key as the Leafs had a 2-1 lead late in the third period. Kirk McLean was on his way to the bench to be replaced by a sixth attacker when he suddenly turned around and poke-checked the puck away from a Toronto forward, saving what would have surely been an empty-net goal. Seconds later, Trevor Linden picked up the puck and beat two Leaf defenders before beating Felix Potvin for the tying goal at 19:31.
• Listen - Trevor Linden forcing overtime in Game 1.
The Canucks were 4-0 in extra time so far in the playoffs, but in the 18th minute of this period Kirk McLean came out to play the puck up to the neutral zone but instead played the puck right onto the stick of Leafs forward Peter Zezel. McLean tried in vain to get back as Zezel slid the puck into the unguarded net for the game-winner.
• Listen - Toronto winning Game 1 in overtime.
Game 2 was tied 3-3 in the third period, but the tie was broken by Jyrki Lumme, who let a hard shot go from the high slot that eluded Potvin. Tied 1-1, the series shifted to the West Coast for the next three games. In Game 3, Pavel Bure scored twice, including one on a breakaway and Kirk McLean provided his third shutout of these playoffs as the Canucks won 4-0.
• Listen - Bure giving Vancouver a 1-0 lead in Game 2.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, Tim Hunter smoked Doug Gilmour into the end boards as the Leafs center came around the Vancouver net. This touched off a melee that would only increase the bad blood between the teams. Gilmour called the hit by his ex-Flames teammate a cheap shot, claiming, "Hunter always picks his spots. He's never changed." The glare that Pat Burns gave referee Andy van Hellemond earned him the Vancouver Province's "Scowl of the Day".
• Listen - Vancouver's Tim Hunter crunching Doug Gilmour in Game 3.
Game 4 remained scoreless until the final four minutes, when Sergio Momesso and Cliff Ronning broke out two-on-one. Momesso fed Ronning, who one-timed the puck past Potvin and send the Coliseum into a state of frenzy. An empty-net goal later, the Canucks had won 2-0 and McLean had his second straight shutout.
• Listen - Cliff Ronning scoring the winning goal in Game 4.
The shutout string would not last long into Game 5, however. The Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 first-period lead, and it looked like the series would be headed back to Toronto. However, second period goals by Murray Craven, Nathan LaFayette, and Greg Adams tied the score heading into the third. Despite the momentum shift, the Canucks could not beat Potvin in the third period or in the first overtime period, and McLean had an answer any time he faced a shot. Off the start of the second overtime, the puck was dumped into the Toronto zone. Linden won a battle along the boards and got the puck back to the point to Dave Babych. Babych's shot hit the post and the puck bounced right onto the stick of Greg Adams, who banked it off the post and in.
• Listen - Greg Adams sending Vancouver to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Vancouver Canucks were Western Conference Champions and, for the second time in their history, would be headed to the Stanley Cup Final. Linden accepted the Campbell Bowl from Brian Burke, who was now an NHL Vice-President, working under Commissioner Gary Bettman. Linden dropped the lid to the Bowl. Pat Quinn waved to the crowd. When Ron MacLean asked him who he was waving to, he deliriously answered, "I don't know . . . Everybody!" A sign in the crowd read "Frank Sr. is Smiling" as Frank's widow, Emily, and their son Arthur came onto the ice to celebrate with the players. The city was now in a state of celebration, and there would be some time to savor this one, as the Finals would not start for another week.
• Listen - Adams talking about the winning goal.
With the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils taking the Eastern Final to seven games, the Canucks once again played the waiting game. In the meantime, Vancouver was a buzz with Stanley Cup Fever. The Rangers prevailed in seven games and the Stanley Cup Finals began on May 31 at Madison Square Garden. The Canucks were clearly the "other team" in this series. The Rangers were prepared to end "The Curse" which had prevented them from winning the Cup since 1940 and the Canucks were the sacrificial lamb.
• Listen - Opening ceremony for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in New York.
The Rangers held the margin in play through 40 minutes of Game 1, but stellar netminding by Kirk McLean kept the score 1-0. Early in the third, Bret Hedican scored his first goal as a Canuck to tie the game, but the Rangers started pressing again immediately after and regained the lead not long afterward. The assault on McLean continued as the Rangers went for the kill, but he was showing no cracks in the armor. Finally, with a minute to play, Martin Gelinas took a shot at Mike Richter that appeared to be a routine glove save, but the Ranger keeper couldn't find a handle on it and it got tangled in his pads before falling into the net.
• Listen - Canucks tie the game 2-2 with a minute left in regulation.
Undaunted, the Rangers were determined to win in overtime, and continued the bombardment on the Canucks, but by now McLean was having the game of his career. In the last minute, the Rangers were putting enormous pressure on and, sensing the kill, Brian Leetch pinched in from the point to take a shot on goal. The puck rang off the crossbar and bounced to Gerald Diduck, who moved the puck up to Pavel Bure. With Leetch trapped in the zone, Bure was able to chip the puck out to the neutral zone, sending Cliff Ronning and Greg Adams away two-on-one. At the New York blueline Ronning passed over to Adams, who one-timed a shot at the net. The puck sailed by the outstretched glove of Richter and just inside the post.
• Listen - Greg Adams puts it by Mike Richter for an overtime victory in Game 1.
For the second game in a row, Adams was the hero in overtime. But the real hero on the night was McLean, who made 52 saves and clearly stole Game 1 from the clutches of the Rangers, giving the Vancouver Canucks their first ever win in the Stanley Cup Finals. "I've never seen a goalie put on a display like that in my life," Trevor Linden would later say. "Never."
• Listen - Pat Quinn and Rangers coach Mike Keenan commenting on Kirk McLean's stellar Game 1 performance.
Game 2 was played more conservatively than Game 1, and this time it was Richter's turn to get the lucky bounces, as the Canucks hit iron behind him three times. Ex-Canuck Doug Lidster scored the winning goal in the second period after McLean received a bump from a New York forward that was not penalized. The final score was 3-1 and the series moved west tied. The jubilant towel-waving fans at the Pacific Coliseum were ready for Game 3 and were brought out of their seats when Pavel Bure picked up the puck off of the opening faceoff and danced through the entire New York starting lineup before depositing the puck behind Richter. The Canucks outshot the Rangers 7-1 in the first 15 minutes, but the one Ranger shot was a goal. With the score tied 1-1, Pavel Bure was assessed a major penalty for high-sticking and a Game Misconduct.
• Listen - Pavel Bure ejected from Game 3.
Less than a minute later, Glenn Anderson scored to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead and the route was on. The final score was 5-1.
• Listen - Kirk McLean misplays the puck, Quinn reacts on Game 3.
Pavel Bure was stoned by New York's Mike Richter during a penalty shot in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
In Game 4, Trevor Linden and Cliff Ronning gave the Canucks a 2-0 first period lead. With the score 2-1 in the second period, Bure attempted to restore the two-goal cushion but was pulled down from behind on a breakaway by Brian Leetch. On the ensuing Penalty Shot, Bure attempted the same move he had used to beat Mike Vernon in the first round, but Richter managed to jam his pad against the post and Bure ran out of room.
• Listen - Pavel Bure stoned by Mike Richter on a penalty shot.
Sergei Zubov scored on a howitzer from the point at 19:38 of the middle frame to tie the score. In the third, Alexei Kovalev scored at 15:05 to give the Rangers the lead, and then in the dying minutes Steve Larmer's shot from center-ice hit Dave Babych and caught McLean going the wrong way. Leetch had scored the first Ranger goal and assisted on the other three. The Canucks had blown a two-goal lead and now trailed 3-1 heading back to New York.
• Listen - Clips of Canucks goals from Game 4.
It was coronation night in the Big Apple on June 9. The Rangers were going to win the Stanley Cup at home, ending "The Curse". Scalpers were selling rinkside seats for $5,000 a pop.
• Listen - Rangers fans ready to celebrate Cup victory prior to Game 5.
Esa Tikkanen appeared to give the Rangers an early lead, but a controversial offside call by linesman Kevin Collins negated it. Jeff Brown gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead in the second period, and the lead was preserved after the team was able to kill of a five minute major to Geoff Courtnall for viciously elbowing Sergei Zubov in the head. Courtnall remained in the game, however, and the stage was set for a wild and crazy third period. Courtnall got things started at the 16 second mark and then Pavel Bure had his rebound knocked by Leetch into his own net at 2:45 to make it 3-0. The series appeared headed back to Vancouver for sure, but the Rangers weren't finished. Lidster made it 3-1, Larmer made it 3-2, and Mark Messier on his patented off-wing, off-leg wrist shot made it 3-3 at 9:04.
• Listen - Canucks establishing a commanding 3-0 lead in Game 5.
Suddenly, the game had been turned around and the Rangers appeared ready to hoist the Cup that night. The Garden was rocking and the fans were chanting, "We Want the Cup." But while they were celebrating, the Canucks broke in three-on-two and Bure fed Babych, who beat Richter between the wickets to restore the lead.
• Listen - Dave Babych regaining the Vancouver lead just 29 seconds after the 3-3 Rangers goal.
As former Canucks coach and GM and current Hockey Night In Canada analyst Harry Neale described it, "This has become an East-West game and the defense for both teams think they're playing for the North and the South." D Alexei Karpovtsev got a breakaway and McLean made a great save to keep the Canucks ahead. Then Courtnall and Bure each scored their second goals of the night to round out the scoring. Bure's goal made it eight in 12:48, a Stanley Cup record. The Canucks had crashed the party in a big way, and would now go home to try to extend the series to a seventh game.
• Listen - Geoff Courtnall and Pavel Bure score for a 6-3 Canuck win over the Rangers.
The crowd at Pacific Coliseum was ready for the game on June 11 and so were the Canucks. In the first minute, Shawn Antoski plastered Jeff Beukeboom into the boards and then hustled to negate an icing call. Brian Leetch, who had been given too much room earlier in the series, was getting hammered all through the first period. When he responded by tackling Gelinas to the ice, he went to the box. Linden won the faceoff back to Brown, who rifled a shot over Richter's right shoulder to give the Canucks a 1-0 lead. It was the only goal the Canucks scored on 14 first period shots. Eight minutes into the second period, a poor play by Jyrki Lumme resulted in a three-on-one Ranger break. Glenn Anderson rang one off the crossbar, but video replay was needed to confirm that it did not go in. Shortly afterward, Courtnall finished a pretty passing play by backhanding one through Richter that barely dribbled over the line before being pulled out. Once again replay was used, and once again the Rangers didn't like the result. With C John McIntyre in the box for goaltender interference, Kovalev's pass hit Murray Craven and deflected by McLean to make it a 2-1 game after 40 minutes. With little more than eight minutes to play, Brown scored another goal on yet another bullet from the point. The Vancouver fans began chanting, "We Want the Cup". With the score 3-1 and under two minutes to play, Courtnall appeared to give the Canucks a 4-1 lead, but play continued. With the Canuck players flustered, Anderson found Messier at the side of the net and he converted to make it 3-2 at 19:01. But the Canucks and 16,150 of their towel-waving supporters thought Courtnall had scored, and referee Bill McCreary decided to check upstairs. Sure enough, Courtnall's backhander had hit the back crossbar and bounced out. The goal was counted and the ensuing 34 seconds (which included Messier's goal) was stricken from the record. The clock ran down and the Canucks had once again won back-to-back games on the brink of elimination to force a seventh game. Arthur Griffiths called Game 6 "the greatest game ever played at the Pacific Coliseum." Nobody who watched the game would disagree.
• Listen - The last minute of Game 6.
Three nights later, on June 14, only the second Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final in the past 23 years was played. Murray Craven had been in this situation before as a member of the Flyers in 1987, and he was determined to win this time. But the Canucks came out flat and fell behind 2-0 after 20 minutes.
• Listen - Rangers open scoring in Game 7.
Leetch scored with McLean out of position and Steve Larmer scored his first goal of the series on the power-play after referee Terry Gregson made a bewildering holding call against Lumme. In the second period, with the Canucks short-handed and a delayed penalty coming up against the Rangers, Trevor Linden fought through the entire Ranger team and scored to bring life back to the Vancouver bench. But late in the period, on another Ranger power-play, Messier managed to force the puck across the goal line in a scramble to restore his team's two-goal advantage heading into the final period.
• Listen - Mark Messier gives the Rangers a 3-1 lead on a powerplay goal.
The Canucks now had nothing to hold back for and they came hard at Richter in the third period, forcing the Rangers into a penalty. On the power-play, Courtnall made a perfect pass to Linden at the side of the net, who swept the puck in to make it a 3-2 game at 4:50.
• Listen - Trevor Linden cuts down the Ranger lead to 3-2 at the start of the 3rd.
The rest of the game would be a wild scramble for the tying goal played mostly in the New York end of the rink. The Canucks had several glorious chances, but Richter was at the very top of his game. What he didn't stop hit iron. Nathan LaFayette hit the goalpost with under three minutes to play. It came down to a faceoff to Richter's right with 1.6 seconds to play.
• Listen - Vancouver pressing hard to tie the game at 3-3 with just five minutes on the clock.
A shot right of the draw was the Canucks only hope, but Messier won the draw, the puck went into the corner, and the Rangers had ended "the Curse" and won their first Stanley Cup since 1940. The Canucks had fallen short by the slightest of margins, and taken all of their fans with them on an emotional rollercoaster that had lasted for two months. It came to an end that night, but no one who lived though it will ever forget it.
While a riot broke out in the city's downtown that night, the real Canucks fans (tens of thousands strong) waited at Vancouver International Airport until 5:40 the next morning for their heroes to return and gave them a thunderous reception. On June 16, 50,000 fans came out to BC Place to honor the Canucks one more time. Surely next year's celebration would be even bigger and there would be an additional piece of hardware present at the festivities.
• Listen - Trevor Linden's comments after the Canucks lose the Cup in Game 7. << 1993-94 1995-96
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