"Now I Can Die in Peace" read one of the most well-known placards displayed on arguably the most raucous night in the history of the "World's Most Famous Arena."

On June 14, 1994, the New York Rangers won their first Stanley Cup since 1939-40. Fifty-four years of agony were wiped away with a thrilling seven-game series victory against the Vancouver Canucks, capped with a 3-2 win at Madison Square Garden.

But how did it get to this? From 1942-43 through 1966-67, the Rangers were one of only six squads in the League -- those are pretty good odds for winning a title -- and before and after those periods the New Yorkers were not always slouches. How could the Stanley Cup avoid the grasp of the Rangers for 54 years?

Would you believe the team was cursed? That's the legend, anyway, and there are a few differing theories.

One stems from a desecration of the Stanley Cup. During the 1940-41 season, team management supposedly burned the mortgage of Madison Square Garden in the bowl of the Cup after making the final payment, as a sort of celebration. The legend goes that the hockey gods were not happy with this symbolic gesture.

No Cup for you!

Another theory on the curse involves the first NHL team to play in New York, the Americans, which was another tenant of Madison Square Garden. The Americans were run by coach and general manager Red Dutton, who suspended the operations of his team following the 1941-42 season because his team lost several players to the armed services for World War II. Dutton always had planned to revive the Americans following the war, but when he attempted to do so, in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1946 his plan was rebuffed by the NHL. Dutton believed the Rangers were behind the decision. Angered, Dutton declared that the Rangers would never win the Stanley Cup again for as long as he lived.

He was right. Dutton died in 1987 at 88 years of age. The curse was at 47 years and going strong.

Since the time Dutton declared a curse on the Rangers, the team reached the Cup Final three times, but was defeated each occasion: in seven games by Detroit in 1950, in six games by Boston in 1972, and in five games by Montreal in 1979.

In 1993-94, the Rangers' fortunes began to change for the better. They posted a League-best 52-24-8 record to win the Presidents' Trophy. In the first round of the playoffs they dispatched their old nemesis, the New York Islanders, in a four-game sweep. Next up were the Washington Capitals, but they too proved no match for the Rangers and fell in five games. From then on, the cakewalk was over.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Rangers were matched against the up-and-coming New Jersey Devils, who took a 3-2 series lead. New York captain Mark Messier, already a five-time Cup winner from his years with the Edmonton Oilers, made a bold prediction that would cement his Hall of Fame candidacy. "We know we have to win it," he said. "We can win it and we're going to win it!" Messier then went out and scored a third-period natural hat trick for a 4-2 victory in New Jersey. Two days later, the Rangers completed the comeback by winning Game 7 in double overtime.

Four more wins and the curse would be broken. All that stood in the way were the Vancouver Canucks, led by 60-goal scorer Pavel Bure. After four games, the Rangers were up 3-1 in the series and Dutton's curse seemed doomed. But the Canucks fought back with a 6-3 win in Game 5 and a 4-1 victory in Game 6.

In Game 7, on June 14, 1994, the Rangers lifted the curse with a thrilling 3-2 home win that nearly rocked the Garden to its foundation.

"They talk about ghosts and dragons," Messier told the New York Times. "You can't be afraid to slay the dragon."

"I've been in the game 15 years. I've won five Stanley Cups and I've never been through anything like this," Messier continued. "We're going to celebrate this like we've never celebrated anything in our lives. Let me tell you -- once you get a taste of this, you never want to give it up."

At a victory parade June 17 through New York's Canyon of Heroes, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani put the final nail in the curse coffin when he declared, "Now it's official. The curse is broken."

Contact Rocky Bonanno at rbonanno@nhl.com