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Liam Neeson has helped inspire ice hockey side New York Rangers to an opening win in the Stanley Cup by re-creating his famous scene from the film ‘Taken’.

The Stanley Cup is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champions and is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America.

The Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1 to win the opening leg of their play-off match on Tuesday. They are bidding for their fifth title, having not won the competition in almost 30 years.

Prior to the game, the club’s Twitter account uploaded a black-and-white video of Mr Neeson putting an ice hockey spin on his well-known ‘I don’t know who you are’ line from his 2008 action thriller ‘Taken’.

In the film, ex-Green Beret and CIA officer Bryan Mills – played by Neeson – is speaking to an Albanian gang who have abducted his daughter as she travels around Europe following the band U2.

The gang are warned that Mills will hunt them down and kill them, but no such threat is issued in the latest version in conjunction with the New York Rangers.

“Listen to me very carefully. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I can tell you this. You better start watching the New York Rangers in the NHL Stanley Cup play-offs. Got it?” says the Northern Ireland actor during the 15-second clip.

The short video has been viewed more than 111,700 times since it was posted in the run-up to Thursday’s match.

The Rangers have made a good start, but face a grueling seven-game face-off with the same opponents over the next 12 days with whoever emerges from the ‘best-of-seven’ series advancing to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup.

Meanwhile, a jacket that Liam Neeson wore in a play at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre in 1981 will be going up for auction in May.

Ian Whyte, chairperson of Whyte’s Auction House in Dublin, revealed the jacket would be going on sale with Neeson’s blessing in an RTÉ interview on Sunday.

“We’ve a jacket that Liam Neeson wore in a play in the Olympia Theatre back in 1981,” he said.

“The play was called The Hostage, and the jacket was donated by costumer Bourke’s, which used to supply costumes to plays and films during that period.

“Liam Neeson himself confirmed it was his, and not only that but he signed the program for the play and a poster.

“It’s been donated to the Hospice Foundation so that’s going up for sale in May,” added Mr Whyte.

The jacket will be sold with a tag that has Liam Neeson’s name and the name of the play.

At the auction in May, a bible that Michael Collins – played by the Ballymena actor in a 1996 biographical film – had on him when he was killed will also be sold.