The Mouth cranks up the Ranger time machine Big time and unleashes one of the most epic road victory's in Rangers history. It all took place on May 5th, 1979 at the Nassau Veterans Coliseum in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals.
Although the Rangers eliminated the Islanders in Game Six at Madison Square Garden two days later, this game in particular was the one that crushed the Islanders spirit and left them doubting if they could ever win a big playoff series.
In this game the Rangers showed a resiliency and poise that frankly only the 1994 Blueshirt team has been able to replicate.
The difference is that the 1979 team had a much more youthful core, especially on the back line, as The Mouth often points out the average age of Rangers defensemen on the 1979 squad was an amazing 23 years of age.
The game footage provided is a bit rough and taken from the Islanders broadcast, but it is the only video document of the game known to exist.
The Big Man would also love to stress that if you had any doubt that Stan Fischler is not a Ranger fan, which the Mouth wholeheartedly believes, listen to traitor Stan scream like a lunatic in celebration when the Islanders score.
I always use that photo of Denny Potvin crumpled up into a sad little ball as the Fishsticks were eliminated by the Rangers to rile up Icelander fans.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of my favorite images.;)