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New York Rangers News and Rumors

The New York Rangers play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers were founded in 1926 as an expansion franchise and are one of the “Original Six” teams, a description used for teams that were part of the NHL from 1942 until the 1967 NHL Expansion in 1967.

With the nickname ”The Broadway Blueshirts”, the New York Rangers have played out of Madison Square Garden since their inception and players gained celebrity status in the roaring 20′s New York nightlife.

The New York Rangers became the first team in the NHL to travel by plane when they hired the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to fly them to Toronto for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs which they would lose 7-6.

In only their second season, the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Montreal Maroons three games to two. They have won 4 Stanley Cups, the most recent coming in 1994.

It was this championship that would elevate Mark Messier’s status as a great leader to legendary. Down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, Messier confronted the New York media and publicly guaranteed a Game 6 victory. In a feat comparable in New York sports history to Babe Ruth’s called shot and Joe Namath’s Super Bowl III guarantee, he backed up his promise by scoring a natural hat trick in the third period which helped the Rangers erase a two-goal deficit. The Rangers went on to win the series and the Stanley Cup (with Messier scoring the Cup winning goal in game 7) — their first in 54 years. Messier’s guarantee, his hat-trick that backed up his guarantee, and his scoring the winning goal in Game 7 of the Finals has resulted in Messier becoming one of the most popular and beloved icons in New York sports history.

Since then the New York Rangers have made the playoffs 7 out of 14 seasons with 7 straight playoff misses from 1997-98 to 2003-04. It could be said that before the lockout and salary cap era, the Rangers were too quick to sign high priced talent and superstars rather than build through the draft. Post lockout the rangers have made the playoffs each year and with a top shelf starter in Henrik Lundqvist in net, they’ll be a force in the Eastern Conference.