Here's a switch.
Instead of running "The Game I''ll Never Forget," today The Maven is slightly switching the topic to "The Ranger I'll Never Forget."
In this case I'm turning the telling over to veteran hockey journalist Patrick Hoffman. Take it away, Patrick.
"When Stan asked me to choose my personal favorite Ranger game, I had a lot of trouble deciding which one to write about.
"You see, my family has had Rangers season tickets since the 1989-90 season. This means that as someone who is 42 years old, I have gone to a TON of Blueshirt games.
"As such, this made choosing a memorable game difficult for me. With that said, there is one that comes to mind, even though the game itself was quite terrible when it comes to the way the Rangers played.
"The game was on Saturday night, March 11, 1995 against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. The Rangers lost 3-1 to a team that would miss the postseason that year, and they played a terrible game.
"What made the game memorable is everything that happened to me surrounding it, especially when it comes to a certain goaltender who was on that Rangers' team - Mike Richter.
"On March 10, 1995, me and my dad - he being the then-lawyer for former Rangers head coach and current NHL senior VP and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell – were going to be travelling with the Rangers to Montreal. The team was scheduled to take on the Canadiens the very next night at the great Montreal Forum.
"When we got to John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, NY, I introduced myself to the players. I mingled, as any hockey-obsessed kid would, with the likes of Mark Messier, Adam Graves and Brian Leetch.
"While that was all good and dandy, the real person I wanted to talk shop with was Richter. Back then, I was a Pee-Wee goaltender who modeled my game after Richter.
"While I knew how to cut down the angles, control my rebounds, and play the puck behind the net, there was one area of my game that I was inconsistent with. It was stopping breakaways, something that Richter excelled at.
"As such, I took a walk around the airport and was able to find him in a small magazine shop. Star-crossed, I introduced myself to the lifelong Blueshirt and told him my problem when it came to stopping breakaways.
"I knew he was a nice guy, having met him before, so I was confident he would have some valuable tips. With that said, I did not know that he was going to explain it all for me.
"Richter looked at a nearby shelf and grabbed two small 3 Musketeers bars, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and a Snickers. At first, I assumed he was being courteous and buying me some candy, but then he took to the ground and started setting up the chocolates.
"In the middle of the shop, Richter used the two 3 Musketeers bars as the net, the peanut butter cup as the goaltender and the Snickers as the shooter. With each candy bar having assumed its respective role, Richter demonstrated what I needed to change.
"He told me that my best bet was to do everything possible to stay with the shooter and let him make the first move. He continued, showing me how to play the correct angle and not start backing into my crease until the shooter was the perfect distance away.
"Since that day, I have been a changed man when faced with an opponent on a breakaway.
"After always coming up on the losing end in penalty shot situations prior to Richter’s lesson, I went five-for-five to close out the season. In later years, I continued to excel, winning breakaway competitions at the high school level and in men’s leagues.
"Looking back, it’s safe to say I owe at least part of my ability as a goaltender to the best teacher I ever had."