Chaos had swept up the Rangers again. Not for the first time and not – as it turned out – for the last.



But here it had swirled mightily and threatened to abruptly end what was looking like a championship 1993-94 season, the franchise having already gone 54 years without a Stanley Cup.



The storm began in the first period of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final against the powerhouse New Jersey Devils. The Rangers entered that game up 2-1 in the series (and with a 10-2 overall record in the playoffs) when coach Mike Keenan benched a bunch of players, most notably Brian Leetch and briefly Mark Messier while pulling goalie Mike Richter – the team’s three MVPs to that point and beyond.



Keenan cited injuries (Leetch had a bad shoulder and a lacerated elbow that had become infected – Keenan attributed it to a Claude Lemieux slash) for the benchings. The players felt – and still feel – they were benched. At times during...