1994 finals vs. 1987 finals: Which was better?
- Thread starter MarkMessier11
- Start date
Bluenote13
Believe In Henke
I agree, in fact I'd say from 85-94 I never watched a bad playoff series. Growing up in Brooklyn we didn't have cable tv that carried hockey outside of NYC un til 1988, that year my family moved to suburbs of jersey and we had all the cable stations, finally got to watch live playoff hockey outside of the NY teams. Before that my Dad's friends from work who lived in the suburbs would tape playoff and stanley cup finals games for us.
And I agree, the Flyers were not such huge underdogs, they had one of the better teams of the 1980's they just couldn't get over the hump, but they had two great goalies, RIP Pelle.
I had the whole 1987 finals on tape, great series no doubt, but was nothing like 1994 because of what was on the line for the Rangers and all the craziness that was happening in June of 94 - Knicks in the finals, world cup of soccer in the USA, the OJ saga, etc.
94 finals were good but the Rangers should have never let that team into that series, 94 Canucks had some amazing players, but they were an 8th place team that took more than one miracle to even get to the finals, mostly because of Bure, Linden and Mclean.
And yes, 1994 was the pinnacle of Hockey in the US, in my lifetime that is. I got so many friends into hockey that year - guys from Colorado(who had no team then), Maryland, Florida, Georgia - guys who played football and soccer in HS with me, now only play in mens hockey leagues and go to College games, I take alot of pride in seeing them as huge puck fans now.
aufheben
#Norris4Fox
Bit of a tangent, but some comments in this thread also reflect my opinion of Edmonton-Carolina being the best post-lockout SCF.
I mean LOOK at this: http://www.nhluniforms.com/1992-93/1992-93.html
The only blemish is the Penguins switching to the seagull for whatever reason, and Tampa's meh first jersey (which is still better than what they currently wear).
From everything I've seen, all aspects of the game back then seemed to be perfectly balanced. Goalies were getting better but it wasn't yet as much of a science as today. Lots of goals and skill but not as sloppy as the 80's. And as I mentioned earlier, by FAR the best uniform period in NHL history.
I mean LOOK at this: http://www.nhluniforms.com/1992-93/1992-93.html
The only blemish is the Penguins switching to the seagull for whatever reason, and Tampa's meh first jersey (which is still better than what they currently wear).
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Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
It really was great from about 85-95. So much skill on display, but like you said the goalies were much improved from the previous decade. The era was a perfect balance of scoring & teams playing tighter defensively.
Too bad the Devils & their awful trap won the Cup. Once that happened, the league took a nose dive for the next decade. With the Rangers being so bad during that same period, my interest in the sport was at an all time low.
The Post-Lockout years were a breath of fresh air with the enforcement of the obstruction penalties, but the officiating the past 5 years has been horrible. They really need to look at what they did in 2005 & get back to that. With the amount of speed & skill that's present in the game today, it would be so entertaining if they would put that on display.
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I definitely agree about the officiating. It has gotten out of hand how calls are so inconsistently applied on a day to day basis.
Canucks steal game 1 on the back of an incredible game by McLean. Rangers go on to take a 3-1 series lead (could have been a sweep if not for McLean). Canucks storm back to win games 5 and 6, creating an eerily similar situation to what Canucks experienced in round 1 against Calgary. A tight game 7 decided by 1 goal and a crossbar/post from Lafayette. You couldn't ask for a better series.
'We win at this and we'll walk together forever!'
'We win at this and we'll walk together forever!'
So fitting that the Rangers put their fans through the gauntlet on their way to their first cup in 54 years
Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
Found this video on Youtube of most of the Oiler goals from the '87 Finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdFaNOy67o8
A couple of things really stand out. First, the skill level of the Oilers is just unreal. Anyone who watches that video & thinks that guys of that era couldn't compete today are delusional. That team, Messier, Anderson, Kurri, & Coffey especially, had so much speed through the neutral zone it was unfair. Their passing & the power play was ridiculous. They were all in their primes then, even Kevin Lowe had decent wheels. By the time he got to NY, my friends & I called him Kevin Slow.
If they kept the team together, they might've won 8 Cups. They were that good. Scary.
Finally, how bad did Hextall look on some of those goals?
Out of position & tons of room between his legs. Not good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdFaNOy67o8
A couple of things really stand out. First, the skill level of the Oilers is just unreal. Anyone who watches that video & thinks that guys of that era couldn't compete today are delusional. That team, Messier, Anderson, Kurri, & Coffey especially, had so much speed through the neutral zone it was unfair. Their passing & the power play was ridiculous. They were all in their primes then, even Kevin Lowe had decent wheels. By the time he got to NY, my friends & I called him Kevin Slow.
If they kept the team together, they might've won 8 Cups. They were that good. Scary.
Finally, how bad did Hextall look on some of those goals?
Out of position & tons of room between his legs. Not good.
MarkMessier11
Registered User
- Jun 15, 2017
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I was kinda hoping for more opinions on the 1994 finals vs. the 1987 finals and which was better. Maybe some comparisons about why one series was better than the other. I know "one doesn't have to be better than the other" and that both series were great, but just for the sake of fun, I'd like to do some comparisons and hear some opinions on which series was better if you were FORCED to pick one over the other. 
ReggieDunlop68
hey hanrahan!
I was kinda hoping for more opinions on the 1994 finals vs. the 1987 finals and which was better. Maybe some comparisons about why one series was better than the other. I know "one doesn't have to be better than the other" and that both series were great, but just for the sake of fun, I'd like to do some comparisons and hear some opinions on which series was better if you were FORCED to pick one over the other.
I mean it's a hard thing to answer piece by piece because I don't see any similarities.
Put it this way, 1987 was an amazing playoffs for a lot of Flyers fans and Ron Hextall and his family.
The Oilers and their fans very likely would consider other years bigger than that.
And on overall storyline level for hockey fans and sports fans, 1994 would be considered the more fantastic series and emotional draw for Ranger fans + Earth - your friend - Islander fans.
I mean one comparison I could draw is the Rangers kicking Hextall's ass in 94 when he was the goalie for the Islanders.
If you're going to bring up series that weren't in the Finals, '94 Rangers/Devils ECF was the best/ hardest fought I've ever watched. 3 Double OT games including Game 7.
I was at every home game for both series and I agree. Both series were great but aside from the finals being the finals I don't think it was close. Rangers down 3-2 and you get Messier's guarantee. Then game 7 has the devils scoring the tying goal with 7.7 seconds left (right in front of me of course) and MSG was stunned. You could hear a pin drop during the intermission.
For me I think it's partly due to the fact that in the semis the rangers were down 3-2 but in the 94 finals the rangers were up 3-1 and nearly blew it. I don't really remember the 87 finals.
Whiplash27
Quattro!!
Finally, how bad did Hextall look on some of those goals?
It wasn't until the 90s when the butterfly started to become adopted wide scale by goalies. There's a reason why you don't see any pure stand-up goalies anymore (most are some variation of butterfly). When you watch the old videos of these pure stand-up goalies you tend to see tons of goals where you watch it and you're like "how did he not save that?"
Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
We sat really close to one another; I was lucky enough to be at all 4 home games of that series. I was 4 rows behind the glass for Game 7 in the corner where Leetch started his spin move on Brodeur. Eddie Olczyk & Alexander Karpotsev were sitting in front of me on a step because there wasn't an empty seat in the building.
Nothing was worse than Game 5 when the Rangers barely showed up to play. When that game ended everyone in the building was resigned to the fact the season was over.
The fact there was a Game 7 was a miracle in itself. I'll never forget the energy of MSG when I walked into the building that night. It was like a dark cloud had lifted & the crowd was so electric. It was a different feeling than Game 7 of the Finals. People were scared to death that night until we went up 2-0. It seemed like there way no way we could lose Game 7 against NJ.....until there was 7.7 seconds left. Then it was complete torture.
Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
Think you mean '89. Although I didn't watch the series. As soon as the Pens swept us, I was done with the season.
Yes, but the Matteau goal was just unreal. I remember literally running and jumping up and down when it went it. I also remember thinking that it was Tikkanen who scored.
Boris Zubov
No relation to Sergei, Joe
Of course, that was such a great moment. But cmon, the 25 minutes of hockey & the hour or so of real time in between Zelepukin & Matteau's goals were sickening. It was like watching a non stop horror film, but you had no idea how it would end.
I do know the feeling. The torture can only be followed as they in Game 7 of the Finals, the last several minutes too a lifetime. They just kept icing the puck over and over again.
