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Mark Messier captained the 1989-90 Oilers to their fifth Cup in seven seasons, and in 1994, captaining the New York Rangers Mark Messier-s career didn-t begin when Wayne Gretzky was traded. But it took the greatest player in the game-s history to move 1,700 miles south for people to see what kind of player and leader Messier truly was.Messier played second fiddle to Gretzky in nine seasons tog acc football scores ether in Edmonton, scoring 302 goals and 747 points, and winning four Stanley Cups. But after the monumental 1988 trade that sent -The Great One- to Los Angeles, Messier took over the first chair, and the orchestra didn-t miss a beat.He captained the 1989-90 Oilers to their fifth Cup in seven seasons, and then cemented his legacy in 1994, captaining the New York RangersHe ended his remarkable 25-y acc football scores ear career second only to Gretzky in scoring with 1,887 regular-season points and 295 postseason points. VIDEO:Messier loved them all Mark Messier video highlights 2007 inductees photo gallery Hall of Fame on NHL.com NHL.com's History section He skipped major junior hockey, and at age 17, earned a five-game tryout with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association. When acc football scores the Racers folded after that 1978-79 season, he celebrated his 18th birthday by signing with the WHA-s Cincinnati Stingers. In 47 games, he scored just 11 points. It wasn-t his scoring, though, that impressed boss Glen Sather, who selected Messier with the 48th overall pick in the 1979 draft.Messier scored just 12 goals and 33 points in his first NHL season, but built upon those numbers each of acc football scores the next two campaigns, topped by his lone 50-goal season, in 1981-82, and earned the first of his four NHL First All-Star team berths.-We knew we were good for each other,- Gretzky said. -There were things that he could do I couldn-t do, and there were things I could do that he couldn-t do. Together we made each other better. Not even in games, but in practices. We pushed each other in practice e acc football scores very day. We went against each other in every drill. We made each other better by playing against each other every day.--It almost became a point of fun for us,- said Messier. -We would read things and hear things about how our team would never survive because of the rifts and rivalries that would develop inside our team. We were like brothers, literally. We just really cared for each other off th acc football scores e ice.-And Messier may be a lot of things, but dummy isn-t one of them.-They were very good coattails, yes they were.--Wayne excelled most of the time,- said longtime teammate and friend Kevin Lowe, -but Mark, in a different way, could really sense when the team needed someone to step up and he was good at that. He was comfortable in the role as second fiddle to Wayne. It was all about the team ha acc football scores ving success. If Wayne became the captain and was the scoring leader and that was his thing, I think Mark figured -I-ll do whatever else needed to be done,- whether it was the physical presence, the scoring when it wasn-t working for Wayne.-New York IslandersBut that-s when Messier took over. He faked defenseman Gord Dineen to the ice and beat goalie Billy Smith for the most spectacular goal of th acc football scores e series. The Oilers went on to win the game 7-2, and the next two games to clinch their first Cup.-Game 3 is always the most critical game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That was the turning point in that particular game and probably the most pivotal part in the whole series.-Messier finished those playoffs with eight goals and 26 points in just 19 games and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as play acc football scores off MVP.The -85 and -87 Cups came at the expense of the .Boston BruinsOn Aug. 9, 1988, the unthinkable happened - Gretzky was dealt to the .-My role might have changed on the ice because we lost him and maybe I was thrust into more of an offensive role than I was in the past,- said Messier. -But not in the locker room or what I had to do to lead the team, that didn-t seem to change much.- who has acc football scores covered the team since it-s inception in the WHA. -People were going to him for opinions on not just Oilers things, but things around the league. Mark became a spokesman. He became pretty thoughtful on things. I don-t think there was any doubt it became Mark-s team.- -The Stanley Cup in New York was very similar to the first one (in Edmonton in 1984) in that it was so new to everybody. Nobody i acc football scores n Edmonton knew what to expect or how to react, and I felt the same pandemonium-type feeling in New York in 1994.- - Mark Messier The first Gretzky-less Oilers fell back to 84 points, and with Messier trying to check his friend and former teammate in the first round of the Smythe Division playoffs, Gretzky rallied the Kings from a three-games-to-one deficit en route to the Stanley Cup Final.-It acc football scores wasn-t anything to do with Wayne leaving,- Lowe said. -It had to do with the fact that in 1989, L.A. beat us with Wayne in the lineup. - The media played a large part in motivating us. A lot was said about the Oilers- inability to win without Wayne. In that respect, in 1990 we were fairly motivated.-Chicago BlackhawksMuch like he did against the Islanders in 1984, Messier made a series-changing i acc football scores mpact in Game 4. The teams had split the first two games in Edmonton, and Chicago took Game 3.The Oilers won the final three games of the series, and finished Stanley Cup No. 5 by taking out the Bruins in five games.-The year we lost to Minnesota in the (1991 conference) final, I had been hurt most of the second half of the year,- recalled Messier. -That basically spelled the end of the era for th acc football scores e Oilers as we knew them. I knew it from a professional standpoint, but more importantly, at 30-years-old, I was really looking forward to a change in my personal life, as well. Obviously having traveled extensively, it became apparent New York was the biggest challenge, the most exciting place, and all the things it turned out to be, and where I really had my sights set on going.--We wanted to ge acc football scores t to the next level,- Smith said. -This guy was just such a pure champion. That-s what I needed to put into the organization. He was somebody who had won, and he was somebody who could teach the long-floundering Rangers how to win.--Walt MacPeek, our beat writer from the (Newark) Star-Ledger-He really liked everything about New York,- said Lowe. -Even when he was playing with Edmonton he always lo acc football scores ved going to New York. He always thought it would be a pretty incredible exclamation point on his career to win there.-No one knew what to expect when the 1993-94 season started.Instead, Messier guided the Rangers to their second Presidents- Trophy in three seasons. He scored 84 points, second on the team, but it was his command of the dressing room that led the Rangers on their path to history.-I acc football scores used to drive with Mark,- recalled Lowe. -We were coming home (from practice) and he said something to the effect that I might have done it this time. I said; -What did you say?- And he said you-ll see tomorrow in the paper.-At point of the game I knew what we were up against, how close we were,- said Messier. -We needed to find a way to win that game. At that particular time I was so focused on acc football scores trying to instill the confidence back in our team, so it didn-t matter to me. I knew we needed to win that game because if we won that series, the chances of us winning the Stanley Cup were very good. It was nothing other than trying to instill the confidence that we had shown all year against that team. We had beaten them six times during the regular season, I knew we could go in there and win th acc football scores at game. I wanted our players to believe it when they read the papers that morning.One of them was Sather, who had no doubt what the outcome would be.Amazingly, it did happen. On May 25, 1994, the Devils took a 2-1 lead into the third period when Messier took over. He scored 2:48 into the third, beating from the slot to tie the game.-This has to be one of the most impressive performances by any h acc football scores ockey player in the history of this league,- Rangers head coach Mike Keenan told the media after the game.-There-s certain individuals that come along in life that are blessed with great timing and great ability and Mark is one of those people,- Smith said. -I was absolutely astonished more as a hockey observer and a hockey person than the GM of the Rangers.-Vancouver CanucksPrior to Game 7, Messi acc football scores er and Keenan talked about what it would mean to end 54 years of Stanley Cup futility.And once again, the great captain lived up to his words. First Messier assisted on Brian Leetch-s game-opening goal. Adam Graves made it 2-0, but the Canucks- made it a one-goal game early in the second.-It was a storybook, mythical ending,- said Smith. -He gets the winning goal to make it 3-2 and we win the Cup acc football scores for the first time in 54 years.-Messier played three more seasons with the Rangers, but there were no more team highlights as the Rangers- title defense was ended by the in the second round of the playoffs.-When you look at everything that has gone on, I've never really put a lot of emphasis on goal scoring throughout my career,- he said in a 1995 interview. -Playing behind Wayne all those years acc football scores , it wasn't until he got traded that I was thrust into a real offensive role. I've never considered myself a natural goal scorer. I've always considered myself a playmaker and have taken pride in setting up my wingers. I guess if you hang around long enough, a few of them are going to go in.-Calgary Flames-I owe my job in the NHL to him,- said former Flames center Joel Otto, who at 6-foot-4 and 22 acc football scores 0 pounds was enlisted as a physical presence to try and slow Messier. -You always had to play with a little fear and be on top of your game. I could match Mark physically but not in skill.-Messier played three more seasons for the Rangers, then departed for the and a reunion with Keenan. Three seasons later he returned to the Rangers in 2000, but watched the playoffs over the final four years of acc football scores his career.Dallas StarsMarty TurcoThen, with Dallas down a goal and the Rangers down a man in the game-s waning moments, the Stars pulled Turco. Messier got the puck, and with nothing between him and the Dallas goal but 100 feet of open ice, -The Captain- shot and scored for point No. 1,851.Bill GuerinAs he ascends to the highest honor hockey can bestow on a player, Messier will be remembered as m acc football scores uch for his goals and points as for how he could galvanize a team.-I had to establish some kind of relationship with each and every player on a deeper level than just hockey. By doing that, they came to trust me so if I had constructive criticism at times, they would know it-s coming form a place of respect and how we-re going to make this situation better than if I was just attacking their person acc football scores , which is completely different.--When it comes to being a leader, there-s nobody better,- said Matheson. -I think Mark scared his own teammates. - Mark didn-t have to speak much (in the locker room), he just had to look at you. He was like a stern father. He didn-t have to use the rod on you, he just looked at you and you got the message.--Every time he went out on the ice it was like Christmas m acc football scores orning and there was something under the tree,- said Matheson. -It got more workmanlike as he got older, but he never seemed to lose the boyish enthusiasm for playing the game. acc football scores
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