Eighteen years later, the Rangers will have to do it again.
They will have to win a Game 6 in New Jersey and they will then have to claim a Game 7 at the Garden in order to overcome the Devils in the eastern finals, take the Battle of the Hudson, and advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since accomplishing this feat in 1994.
The Blueshirts are down 3-2 to the Devils following last night’s excruciating 5-3 defeat at the Garden after erasing an early first-period 3-0 deficit on the first shift of the third period, only to be beaten when Ryan Carter, off a Stephen Gionta feed, beat Henrik Lundqvist with 4:24 remaining in the third.
In many ways, this was the Rangers’ most formidable performance of the playoffs, coming as it did on the night Lundqvist had his worst period, not only of the tournament but of the season, allowing goals on three consecutive shots within the game’s opening 9:49.
The Rangers shredded the Devils’ forecheck and dominated down low, rallying to cut the deficit to 3-2 within the first minute of the second period before tying it at 0:17 of the third on a goal from Marian Gaborik but simply could not get the winner against Martin Brodeur and the Devils, who are one win away from going to the Finals for the first time since 2003 and the fifth time since 1995.
But before that, though, they will have to win one more game, will have to win the one more game the 1994 Devils could not when in the same situation against the Rangers.
Brandon Dubinsky returned to the lineup after missing the previous 11 matches with a right ankle injury he sustained in Game 7 of the first round against Ottawa on April 26.
The Rangers were counting on Dubinsky, who was reunited with 2010-11 linemates Artem Anisimov and Ryan Callahan, to energize the forecheck and puck-possession game that had been merely a rumor in the first four games of this series.
John Mitchell, who had one point in the playoffs, that an assist on the faceoff win that preceded Marc Staal’s overtime winner in Game 5 against the Caps in the conference semis, was scratched to accommodate Dubinsky’s return.
Steve Eminger, meanwhile, was scratched to make room for Brandon Prust’s return to the lineup from his one-game suspension for elbowing Anton Volchenkov in Game 3, with Stu Bickel moving back to defense after taking a handful of shifts at right wing in Game 4.
The Rangers had not scored a first-period goal through the first four games of this series. Moreover, the Blueshirts had been shut out in 12 of their first 18 playoff first periods overall, and in 12 of their previous 16.
That goes a long way in explaining the almost inexplicable scenario under which the Rangers had entered the third period with a lead in only four of their first 18 games.
Coach John Tortorella had said following the morning skate that the Rangers would change things up, and that they did. In addition to reuniting the Anisimov line, Tortorella had Brad Richards between Chris Kreider and Carl Hagelin while shifting Gaborik to right wing on a line with center Derek Stepan and Ruslan Fedotenko. Brian Boyle centered Prust and Mike Rupp on the fourth line.
After the Devils had largely carried the play in the first period of each of the first four games, the Rangers and Tortorella were focused on initiating from last night’s opening faceoff.
“We do need a good [start], the coach said following the morning skate.
“Again, when we start talking about a must-game or a must-start, I don’t like going there [because] what happens if something doesn’t happen right away for you. We just throw the last 50 minutes away?
“There’s no question that Jersey, right on through the playoffs, not just our series, they have blitzed teams and gained momentum,” Tortorella said. “Momentum is a big part of playoff hockey. There’s no question we’d like to get that on our side right away.”
The Rangers did initiate with the body, notably Dubinsky and Callahan throwing hits in the offensive zone, but New Jersey was quick on the puck and sure on the attack, again beating the Blueshirts to spots.
Gionta gave the Devils a 1-0 lead on a rebound from in front at 2:43, scooping in Mark Fayne’s right point drive after a failed clearing attempt.
It became 2-0 at 4:13 when Adam Henrique’s shot from 50 feet off an Ilya Kovalchuk feed deflected first off Anisimov’s skate and then off Patrik Elias’ skate on its way past Lundqvist.
The score mounted to 3-0 when Travis Zajac beat Lundqvist with a right circle wrist shot at 9:49 on the Devils’ fifth shot of the period.
The Rangers, who had called timeout after the second goal, dominated the play for most of the rest of the first and created several opportunities against Brodeur before Prust scored on a backhand at 15:41 to cut the deficit to 3-1 at the first intermission.
The Blueshirts carried their momentum into the second period, striking on the first shift when Ryan Callahan, relentless throughout, brought his team within 3-2 at 0:32 when Anisimov’s bad angle fling from the left side caromed in off the captain’s left skate.
The Devils were on their heels for nearly the entire period, the Rangers playing their most assertive hockey of the series. But though the Blueshirts had several chances, they could not draw even despite an 11-5 edge in shots that accurately reflected the club’s territorial advantage.
larry.brooks@nypost.com