Blue Line Station
Fansided

New York Rangers election night trivia

By Steve Paulus

WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 29: U.S. President George W. Bush receives a jersey from New Jersey Devils team captain Scott Stevens (R) during a meeting with the 2003 Stanley Cup champions September 29, 2003 at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. The Devils defeated the Anaheim Mighty Ducks of in a seven-game 2003 Stanley Cup Final series to capture the team's second Stanley Cup in the past four years. Devils' head coach Pat Burns to the right of Bush. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 29: U.S. President George W. Bush receives a jersey from New Jersey Devils team captain Scott Stevens (R) during a meeting with the 2003 Stanley Cup champions September 29, 2003 at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC. The Devils defeated the Anaheim Mighty Ducks of in a seven-game 2003 Stanley Cup Final series to capture the team's second Stanley Cup in the past four years. Devils' head coach Pat Burns to the right of Bush. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Can the New York Rangers’ record on Election Day be used to predict the final results?

When it comes to Presidential Elections we are always looking for trends or a way to predict the outcome.  Four years ago the Rangers lost to the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 at Madison Square Garden.  Fans got home in time to see that Donald Trump had won the presidency.  Can we look at the New York Rangers and their record on Election Day and learn anything? In a word, no.

The Rangers joined the NHL in 1926. Since that time there have been 23 presidential elections.  12 were won by Democrats with 11 by Republicans.

2020 is not unusual with the Rangers not playing.  In fact, the Rangers don’t always play on Election Day and have actually been idle 12 times versus 11 Election days with games scheduled.

On those 12 idle Election Days, the Democratic candidate has won eight times and the GOP has won four times.

On the 11 Election Days that the Rangers have played they have won three times and lost eight games.  When they have won, Democrats have won once and Republicans twice.

When they have lost, Democrats have won three times and the Republicans has won eight.

Some trivia

Here some little known Presidential Election Day facts concerning the Rangers.

  • The Rangers played on the first two Presidential Election Days in their history and won both times against teams that don’t exist any longer.
  • In 1928 they beat the Detroit Cougars 2-0 while Republican Herbert Hoover won the presidency.
  • In 1932 they defeated the Montreal Maroons 4-2 as Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his first term.
  • That 1932 election was the only time the Rangers won and the Democratic candidate won as well.
  • After winning on their first two Presidential Election Days, the Rangers then lost the next six games that they played on Election Day.  In fact, they went 68 years between wins on Presidential Election Days starting in 1932. Their next win was in 2000 when they beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3.  George W. Bush won that election, though the final result wasn’t determined for several weeks.

No matter who wins the election there is one constant.  There have been no U.S. Presidents who have been real hockey fans.  President Kennedy was concerned at the height of the cold war when the U.S. team didn’t fare well at the IIHF World Championships.  President Reagan attended at least one Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Finals game in 1993 after leaving office.

All recent presidents have invited the Stanley Cup winning team to the White House though it’s unclear if the Tampa Bay Lightning will get a similar invite due to the pandemic.

Does it matter?  Not at all, but it is a way to while away the hours as we watch election results.

More. Strome asking for $5.7 million. light

Home/Editorials