New Jersey Devils: 1994 Rangers Propelled Devils’ Dynasty
The New Jersey Devils lost in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals to the New York Rangers and that was good for their dynasty.
The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have a pretty big rivalry. When both teams are good, it is one of the better rivalries in the entire National Hockey League. They are both franchises that have experienced different levels of success over the last three decades and they have had many good moments at the hands of each other. There is the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals where Adam Henrique scored the biggest Devils goal of the decade, and then there is the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals that sting a little bit more.
The Rangers scored in overtime of game seven against the Devils. Stefan Matteau tucked the puck past Martin Brodeur to send the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final, where they would win the Cup. To this day, it is the only Cup that the franchise has won since 1940. As an Original Six franchise, they have a pretty pathetic amount of Stanley Cup victories.
That goal stung at the time, but what came after turned out to be okay for the Devils. That made them angry enough to come back with a vengeance in the upcoming years. In fact, the Devils won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history the following year. Then after that, they won again in 2000 and 2003. You can argue that the loss to the Rangers was a “blessing in disguise” because of what it allowed the team to do.
It allowed the team to be angry and stew on it. They had to wait for the following season and they took complete advantage. They became one of the best teams of the era after that horrible loss and the Rangers haven’t done anything. All that matters now is that the Devils continue to build and keep up with the Rangers and the rest of the division.
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Without that series, you never know if the Devils come back and win three more. Who knows, maybe they also beat Vancouver Canucks in that 1994 Final and still win three more, but it is fair to assume that it was a good lesson learned for that young Devils team. They came out with one goal in mind over the next season and they did it.