Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

A decade later, St. Louis, Richards return to Cup Final

Montreal Canadiens v New York Rangers - Game Six

Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis

Getty Images

It was almost exactly a decade ago that the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Calgary Flames in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final. Back then, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis led the charge, finishing first and second respectively in the Lightning’s playoff scoring race.

Richards and St. Louis haven’t played in the final round since that series. A lot has happened and their uniforms have changed, but the New York Rangers duo is hoping that the ending will be the same.

“Never would have thought we’d be here today, in New York, doing it,” Richards said, per the Bergen Record. “Even to start the season, I never imagined Marty being here.”

St. Louis, who was acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline, is one of the big reasons they’ve gotten this far. He went on a six-game point streak from May 11-25 as the Rangers dug themselves out of a hole against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round and then gained the upper hand versus Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final.

During that stretch, St. Louis scored the overtime winner against Montreal in Game 4 to give the Rangers a commanding 3-1 series lead that the Canadiens were unable to recover from.

When the 2013-14 campaign started, Richards and St. Louis didn’t have many playoff games under their belts. This time around, they will serve as the voices of experience on a Rangers’ club that hasn’t won a championship since 1994.

Follow @RyanDadoun