NEW YORK — Henrik Lundqvist waited nine years for a night like this. For the New York Rangers franchise it was 20 years in the making.

When the final buzzer sounded Thursday night, the Broadway Blueshirts were in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since captain Mark Messier was in charge.

Lundqvist and the Rangers shook off a rough loss in Montreal two nights earlier and shut down the Canadiens 1-0 to win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals and move on to their first championship round appearance since taking the title in 1994.

“Enjoy the moment right now, but we are not done,” forward Martin St. Louis said. “It’s going to be fun. Take it all in, but leave it out there, as well.”

The Rangers had a 3-1 series lead before falling 7-4 in Game 5 when Lundqvist was pulled after allowing four goals in less than two periods.

New York’s focus was on Game 6. Another trip back to Montreal was a dreaded experience the Rangers fought to avoid.

Lundqvist wasn’t overly busy in stopping all 18 shots he faced, but there was no margin for error as Dominic Moore’s second-period goal was the only offense in the clincher.