On December 23 in NYR history: Insanity invades the Garden

41 years ago today, the Boston Bruins reached an all-time low while playing the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

What happened on December 23rd in the history of the New York Rangers

December 23rd, 1979 – a day that Rangers fans will never forget.

In the closing seconds of the game, New York Ranger, Phil Esposito, misses a breakaway. He corrals the puck on the half-boards and shoots wide. The horn sounds signaling a Boston Bruins 4-3 win over the Rangers. Esposito smashes his stick on the ice and skates off in disgust.

Christmas is less than two days away and a few of the players make their way to the locker rooms. It’s the holidays, time for a break. However, behind the play, just as Esposito is leaving the ice, Bruins winger, Al Secord, took the opportunity to sucker punch the Ranger’s Ulf Nilsson, retaliation for an early disagreement. And the rest, as we all know, lives in hockey infamy:

41 years later, this is still so shocking to watch. The announcing, the Rangers looking on, Mike Milbury with the shoe… it’s all just so surreal. The only comparable brawl in recent American sports is the Malice at the Palace. But hockey fans will tell you, that the Malice pales in comparison to Christmas Eve’s eve 1979 at Madison Square Garden. The “Shoe Brawl”, as it has since been christened, only resulted in Terry O’Reilly being suspended eight games and Peter McNab and Milbury being suspended six games.  All three players were only fined $500, which is roughly $1800 today.

Can you imagine if something like this were to happen today? Twitter would explode and it would be a publicity nightmare for not only the players involved but the league itself. There would be a full-on hockey witch hunt!

41 years later

For starters, Mike Milbury is still making headlines. 

Second, the Bruins-Rangers rivalry is about to boil over again.

41 years isn’t usually a significant anniversary, but there is a significant reason for it this year. This is the first year since 1974 that the New York Rangers will not only be in the same division as another Original Six franchise but the Bruins.

It’s surprising to see two teams despise each other so severely in today’s NHL and not be divisional rivals. With the teams seeing a bit more of each other this season, you can bet Terry O’Reilly’s $500 that the rivalry will reach a new level.

The Bruins are not only a rival but a quality team. Bias aside, they’re routinely a winning team. They find themselves atop the standings year after year and are sure to be a test for the Rangers throughout the season. The Bruins will be an ongoing benchmark for the Rangers on whether the rebuild is truly over or not.

And though the schedules are yet to be announced, the Rangers are going to have their work cut out for them this year. Every other night the Rangers will have to face off with a legitimate rival. Whether it’s the Bruins or the Flyers or the Islanders or the Devils or the Penguins or the Capitals or the… you get the point. It may only be a 56-game season, but it’s going to be a grueling one for sure.

Record setting against the Rangers

On this date in 1978, Bryan Trottier set an NHL record with six points in one period of a 9-4 Islanders win at Nassau Coliseum.   It’s a record that has never been equaled.  20 players have gotten to five points in a period, but no one else has gotten six.

Trottier scored three goals and assisted on three others in the second period.  He finished the night with eight points, second most in a game in NHL history.    This was the first time he scored five goals in a game, a feat he accomplished twice in his career.

On December 23 in 2000, David Legwand of the Nashville Predators became the first NHL player to win a game in overtime on a penalty shot.  Legwand was awarded the penalty shot when he was hooked by Tomas Kloucek on a breakaway.   Legwand beat Ranger goalie Kirk McLean with 1:43 left in OT and it gave the Predators a 3-2 win.

Double digits

On this date in 1985, the Rangers hit double digits for the 15th time in their history, beating the Detroit Red Wings 10-2 at Madison Square Garden.  In the 35 years since, the Blueshirts have scored ten or more goals only three times.

First time in Ottawa

In 1926 on this date, the Rangers made their first trip to Ottawa, losing to the Senators 1-0.  The Sens won the Stanley  Cup the Rangers’ first year in the NHL and were champions four times.   The original Senators were in the NHL from 1917 to 1934, relocating to St. Louis as the Eagles for one season before folding.  Ottawa would not see an NHL team until the 1992-93 season with the expansion Ottawa Senators.

Today’s birthdays

On this date in 1919, Fern Gauthier was born in Chicoutimi, Quebec. He was a right winger who played the 1943-44 season with New York, scoring 14 goals. He played five more years for Montreal and Detroit.

Defenseman Bryce Lampman was born on this date in 1982 in Rochester, Minnesota. A fourth-round pick by the Blueshirts in the 2001 draft, he played ten games in New York over three seasons.

In 1987, goalie Ondrej Pavelec was born in Kladno, Czechoslovakia. He spent one season in New York and is best known for getting injured, providing Alexandar Georgiev with an opportunity to win an NHL job.

Vitali Kravtsov was born on this date in 1999 in Vladivostok, Russia.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 52 games on December 23rd, more than any other day of the month.  They have a .500 record for the date.

Games: 52
Regulation wins: 20
Regulation losses: 22
Ties: 5
Overtime wins: 1
Shootout wins: 1
Overtime losses: 1
Shootout losses: 2
Points percentage:  .500

Looking back

Last year, 2019: Flyers 5, Rangers 1

Kevin Hayes made his first game against his former team a memorable one by scoring two goals and winning first star of the game honors.  The Flyers scored five straight goals after Jesper Fast gave the Blueshirts a 1-0 lead in the first period.   It was a 1-1 game until the third period when the Flyers blew the game open, thrilling the fans at the Wells Fargo Arena.

5 years ago, 2015: No game

10 years ago, 2010: Tampa 4, Rangers 3 (SO)

After finishing regulation tied 3-3, the teams played a scoreless overtime and went to a shootout at Madison Square Garden.  It was a marathon 11 round affair.  After each team scored twice in their first three tries, the Rangers missed eight times before Ryan Malone scored for Tampa, giving them the win.  It was a crushing loss for Henrik Lundqvist,  In goal for the Lightning?  Journeyman goalie Dan Ellis.