NHL

Celebrating ‘94 Rangers anniversary will have to do for this year

It may have to last a lifetime.

Twenty years after the Rangers last hoisted the Stanley Cup, ending a 54-year hex, the hopes of a new group of Blueshirts to follow Mark Messier, Mike Richter and Co. into club lore ended in Los Angeles at Staples Center, in a 3-2 double-overtime defeat to the Kings.

The 1994 Ranger met for a 20th year anniversary celebration at the 92nd Street YMCA on the Upper East Side on Friday night, reliving the night they became champions.

“It brings a smile to my face,” Adam Graves said as highlights of the last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup played on a projection screen at the Steiner Sports-sponsored event for fans that included roughly half of that group, coach Mike Keenan, and announcers John Davidson and Sam Rosen.

“Because it was generational, it was a special time to be a Ranger, and I think that same feeling we had had as players, the fans felt, New Yorkers felt,” said Graves, who works in the Rangers community relations department. “It felt like the city won.”

Twenty years later, the significance of that team remains, the group that snapped the 54-year Stanley Cup hex on Broadway.

That season had so many memorable moments, from the 112-point regular season, to the classic Eastern Conference finals against the Devils and unforgettable Stanley Cup finals against the Canucks, each going seven thrilling games.

There was Captain Mark Messier’s famous guarantee, goaltender Mike Richter’s brilliance in net, Brian Leetch’s Conn Smythe Trophy-winning performance that postseason, Stephane Matteau’s double-overtime Game 7 winner against the Devils and of course the final seconds against Vancouver, punctuated by Rosen’s forever call: “This one will last a lifetime!”

“It was the time of our lives — being in New York, being the toast of the town,” recalled hard-hitting defenseman Jeff Beukeboom.

The Rangers’ season appeared as if it would be lost against the Devils, when they fell behind their Hudson River rivals 3-2. Prior to Game 6, Messier made The Guarantee, telling reporters, “We will win tonight,” and then went out and produced the most famous hat trick in Rangers history.

“The intention was to show the same confidence I had in our team all year long, that in our heart of hearts we knew we could go in there and win that game,” he said.

The Rangers went on to win the Cup, which created a bond that remains to this day. It was apparent Friday night.

“That was as close a team I’ve ever played on, and we still feel it now,” Graves said. “When we see each other, we pick up right where we left off.”