"Now the years are rolling by me

They are rockin' evenly

I am older than I once was

And younger than I'll be; that's not unusual.

No it isn't strange

After changes upon changes

We are more or less the same

After changes we are more or less the same".. Paul Simon

Paul was right, sort of...

  20 years and 2 days separated similar events in the same location, . May 27th 1994 Madison Square Garden and the New York Rangers needed one more win to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for only  the Third time in my life time ,and for the first time since 1979.  To fully appreciate what that night meant to me you need to know a little back ground. I grew up on Long Island a Ranger Fan,amongst a sea of Islander fans,so at that point in history 1979 was my NY Rangers fandom High water mark, That 1979 team was the team that defeated  the hated Islanders on the way to the Stanley Cup Finals,It was where the Potvin Sucks Chant started.That night I was 19 years old in College ,my whole adult life ahead of me, watching Denis Potvin knelling on the ice in stunned disbelief,  a sense of pride, euphoria unadulterated joy reigned over me that I never experienced at any sporting event in my life ( I was at game of the 1969 World series as well) Everything was going great , I was going to see my beloved Rangers win the Cup, I was 19, yeah others had to suffer through 39 cupless years ,but 19 ,not so bad,well we all know what happened when we faced the Canadians.  The rest they say is history, the Isles ran off 4 cups, the chant of 1940 was born,  and all that torment and disappointment brought us to this May of 1994 spring night.

   As a long time season ticket holder I was in the Garden with 2 of my friends who were also my  Hockey teammates (pictured above)and 14.000 plus die hard Ranger fans. as time seemed to stand still in that second overtime period , my right fist still swollen and throbbing from a battle it lost with the back of seat 5 row C section 331 way back  with 7.7 seconds left in the third period when Valeri h Zelepukin tied the game, all the torment and emotional scars of the ghost of JP Parise dancing in my head,but faster then Howie Rose could say "“Matteau behind the net . . . swings it in front . . . he scores! Matteau, Matteau, Matteau! Stephane Matteau . . . and the Rangers have one more hill to climb, baby, and it’s Mount Vancouver! The Rangers are headed to the Finals!”  it all changed in an instant. A feeling of pride, euphoria unadulterated joy reigned over me. I was 34 years old married 2 kids, a house and my youth in the rear view mirror but when that goal was scored I was 19 again.

    Fast forward to Thursday night, 20 years later and the 3 of us were back in the same place with the Rangers once again one game away from reaching the Stanley Cup finals. We were,no longer in 331 as our former section no longer exists in the newly renovated Madison Square Garden The three of were scattered about the Worlds Most Famous Arena.This night however I was not in the building as a paying fan, I was there as part of the working press. I have had the unique opportunity to cover the New York Rangers the for the last 4 seasons, for WLIE SPORTSTALKNY and as such I have been around this team a lot, an awful lot ,practices ,morning skates, post practice, post morning skate pressers, post game locker room interviews. I have seen several trade deadlines come and go, I have seen first hand the impact of a friend being traded away, as well as a frenzied first game of players arriving via trade just in time to play in that night’s game. I have seen Marc Staal endure a horrific eye injury and a concussion, I have seen Coaches fired and hired. I have seen a team come close to it's dream only to come up 2 games short. I have covered the always disappointing Breakup day. This season I have spoken at length with players who experienced the devastating loss of a loved one.All of those things came over me as the minutes ticked down in the third period, there is an unwritten rule in the press box " no cheering in the press box" when the buzzer sounded I was cheering as loudly as I was in 1994 only this time it was on the inside.That same feeling of pride, euphoria unadulterated joy reigned over me.  This time though I am not 19 again nor am I 34 again, I am 54 and have a greater understanding of what it takes to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Through the lens of life and experience and seeing what this team has been through collectively I think I may have enjoyed this night more then any other.Although I  did not experience Thursday’s win in section 331, I have had an amazing experience this season in the press box with some pretty incredible who also have made this night special. Thanks go out to Howie Karpin,Don Lagreca, Linda Cohn, Seth Rothman, Denis Gorman, Pat Kearns, Zach Gelb,Ashley Scharge,Sean Hartnett,Scott Charles,Christian Arnold,Macy Golder, Michael Rappaport, Matt Calamia, Jim Cerny , John Giannone, and Kenny Albert as well as all the local beat writers who make MSG a magical place to be on game night. There are still several more stories to be filed and written before this season ends and I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to do so.

   So in some respects when Paul Simon states After changes upon changes,We are more or less the same, he is only partially correct, for back in 1979, 1994 all that mattered to me was that the Rangers had to win the Cup, but after changes upon changes for me I have to say that regardless of what happens in the finals , here's a tip of the Broadway Hat to the 2013-14 Prince of Wales Champion Ny Rangers. In some way even if the New York Rangers come up short this particular season for me will this season, this group of players and covering it will truly last a lifetime.

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