December 10, 2020: This day in New York Rangers history

The beginning of a great rivalry for the New York Rangers

What happened on December 10 in the history of the New York Rangers

When one team comes to play at Madison Square Garden it is guaranteed to inflame the passions  of the Blueshirts faithful like no other.   That team is the New York Islanders and on this date in 1972 they played their first game at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

This was the debut season for the Islanders and the third time the two teams would meet.   The Rangers had won the first two meetings the Nassau Coliseum by a combined scored of 6-2.  But this was the first time the Islanders would come to Manhattan and little did anyone know what the future would hold for these two team.

The game was played one day after the Rangers had won 4-1 on Long Island and they won this game by the same 4-1 score.

Billy Harris would net the first goal ever for an Islander at the Garden, scoring at 10:42 of the first period.  Bill Fairbairn would knot the score and Vic Hadfield put the Blueshirts ahead for good in the second period.  In goal for the Rangers?  Goalie Peter McDuffe, making his only start for the Rangers in the1972-73 season.

Believe it or not, McDuffe spent the entire season with the Rangers, but only played in this one game as Eddie Giacomin and Gilles Villemure played the rest.

Including that first game, the Isles have played 137 times in the regular season at the Garden.   Their all-time record is 53-72-11-2.   In the playoffs, the two teams have met at MSG 20 times and have split the games going 10-10.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 34 times on December 10 in franchise history.   It’s been a pretty even date when it comes to wins and losses.

Games:  34
Regulation wins:  12
Regulation losses:  13
Ties:  6
Overtime wins: 2
Overtime losses:  1
Points percentage:   .514

Looking back

On each day, we look back at what the Rangers did one, five and ten years ago. The only time they played was last season and the result wasn’t great.

Last year – 2019:  Los Angeles 3, Rangers 1

On this date last year, the Blueshirts dropped a 3-1 decision to the Kings, ending a Ranger three game road winning streak.   The Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead and the Rangers couldn’t cash in until Artemi Panarin scored a six on four power play goal with Henrik Lundqvist pulled. That made the score 2-1 with 31 seconds left to play, but an empty net goal for L.A. sealed the deal.

Five years ago – 2015:  No game

Ten years ago – 2010:  No game