Better late than never. They raised the big, blue banner last night at Madison Square Garden in honor of the Rangers' Stanley Cup championship, their first since 1940. The Rangers celebrated it more than seven months after it was clinched last June.
The ceremony lasted more than half an hour before the season's delayed opening game and was enjoyed by a capacity crowd of 18,200. The fans stood on their feet and cheered, loudly and repeatedly, throughout the emotional affair.
Afterward, the game was a bit of a letdown. Although it had its exciting moments, parts of it were ragged, as might be expected when a 15-week lockout is followed by a one-week training camp. It ended in a 2-1 Ranger loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
In appropriate New York style, the show was full of glitz and bravado, laid on as thick as cream cheese on a bagel. When the lights went down in the building, the video screen on the scoreboard showed crucial scoring plays from last spring's playoffs accompanied by the music of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."
Then came videotaped observations from local wise guys such as Jackie Mason and David Letterman. The latter recited a "Top 10" list that included a familiar, crude insult of Dennis Potvin, the former Islander star and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's a slogan that Ranger fans still enjoy chanting.
Perhaps that, too, was appropriate, in a Manhattan-Long Island sort of way. The Rangers' title leaves the Blue Shirts only three behind the streak of the Islanders, their rivals who won four in a row from 1980 through 1983.
After a display of laser beams, clouds of artificial smoke and the appearance of the cup, the banner was hoisted by five long-suffering fans while the speaker system played the music of "Ode to Joy" by some composer not from around here who apparently never wrote any songs about New York, New York.
Then the team captain Mark Messier took the cup and led his teammates on a procession during which they passed the shiny silver chalice from hand to hand. It was a hard act to follow, and the Rangers weren't able to top it afterward.
"We knew it was going to be a tough night," Colin Campbell said after his first game as the Rangers' head coach. "Our worst fears came true."
Stephane Matteau admitted that the excitement might have had an effect on the home team's play. "I really believe tomorrow night will be much better," he said, referring to Saturday's home game against Montreal.
Matteau said last night's festivities were "more for the fans than the players."
Steve Larmer opened the scoring for the Rangers on the power play at 3 minutes 35 seconds of the first period. Dale Hawerchuk tied it for Buffalo at 4:37, scoring after a smooth, three-way passing combination with Yuri Khmylev and Alexander Mogilny after the Rangers lost control of the puck in the neutral zone.
Donald Audette gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead on a slap shot from the top of the right circle, between the skates of Mike Richter, at 5:25 of the third period.
The Rangers came close to tying it late in the third period when Aleksei Kovalev shift to his backhand and flipped a shot behind Grant Fuhr. But the puck hit the post and bounced away.
Through most of the night, Richter and Kovalev were among New York's better performers. Among Richter's best saves was a sliding stop of Mogilny from the lip of the crease, which prompted the Siberian sniper to slam his stick on the backboards in frustration.
Kovalev, skating alongside Petr Nedved, used his slippery moves to draw three penalties from the Sabres. He also hit another goal post.
But Richter and Kovalev both were victimized on Audette's winning goal. Kovalev, at the end of a shift, lost possession of the puck in the neutral zone. Richter partially stopped Audette's routine shot and seemed surprised to find the puck behind him and the red light on.
Campbell said Kovalev and Nedved were taking shifts that were longer than he would have preferred.
SLAP SHOTS
ADAM GRAVES, recovering from back surgery, got into the thick of it, jamming the slot and landing on the ice on his first shift and fighting DOUG HOUDA in the second period. He finished with seven shots on goal, including five in the third period. "It feels great," Graves said of the back. "It feels like it always has. It feels better than it did late last season." . . . As expected, MIKE RICHTER has been signed to a new contract. Terms were not announced, although it was expected that the goaltender's deal would be for four seasons at a salary of about $3 million per season. . . . PAT LaFONTAINE, the Sabres' star center, was scratched from the lineup. The former Islander underwent surgery on his right knee more than a year ago, but still has soreness. He was re-examined by doctors this week in New York. "Structurally, the knee is sound, and there is no swelling," LaFontaine said in a statement released by the Sabres. "The muscles around the knee need more strength, especially the areas where there is soft tissue. I will continue to rehabilitate the knee."
