Rangers' Vigneault takes second team to Cup Final

The New York Rangers haven't been to the Stanley Cup Final since 1994, but their coach has.

Alain Vigneault became the 10th coach in NHL history to lead more than one team to the Final when the Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 on Thursday to win the Eastern Conference Final in six games. The Rangers will play the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings; Game 1 of the Cup Final is Wednesday, June 4.

Vigneault is hoping for a better outcome than the one he endured in the spring of 2011, when he coached the Vancouver Canucks to the Presidents' Trophy and the Western Conference championship, only to have the Boston Bruins win the Cup in seven games.

Hall of Fame member Scotty Bowman is the only coach to lead four teams to the Cup Final. Bowman was behind the bench with the St. Louis Blues in 1968, '69 and '70; they lost to the Canadiens the first two years and to the Bruins the third. He joined the Canadiens in 1971 and led them to five Cups, then won championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 and the Detroit Red Wings in 1997, '98 and 2002, as well as leading them to the Final in 1995, when they were swept by the New Jersey Devils. In all, Bowman made 13 appearances in the Final and won nine Cups

Mike Keenan led the Philadelphia Flyers (1985 and '87) and Chicago Blackhawks (1992) to the Final, then won it all in '94 with the Rangers.

In addition to Vigneault, seven other coaches have led two teams to the Final, though none has won the Cup with each team. They include: Fred Shero (Flyers, Rangers), Pat Quinn (Flyers, Canucks), Bob Johnson (Calgary Flames, Penguins), Mike Babcock (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Red Wings), Darryl Sutter (Flames, Kings) and Peter Laviolette (Carolina Hurricanes, Flyers).