On January 5 in NYR history: A national spotlight for the Rangers

The New York Rangers make television history

What happened on January 5 in the history of the New York Rangers

On January 5, 1957 the New York Rangers played in the first NHL game televised nationally in the the United States.  It also happened to be the first time the Rangers played in the afternoon at Madison Square Garden with the start time determined by the television schedule.

The announced crowd was only 9,853 including NHL President Clarence Campbell. Thousands more were able to see the game as it was televised by CBS to a network of over 100 stations throughout the United States.

The Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1, in what was described as a civil game.  There were no fights and play was clean though referee Frank Udvari did hand out ten penalties.   Newspaper accounts of the game mentioned that the players seemed  conscious of the television cameras and it held them back.

The Rangers shouldn’t have been strangers to television as WCBW (now WCBS) had televised Ranger games locally from 1945-48.    The national telecasts started in the 1956-57 season and the Chicago-New York game was the first of ten games televised that first season.

Nationally televised games in  Canada started in 1952 when Hockey Night in Canada made its debut.

A nine goal victory margin

On this date in 1947, the Rangers tied a franchise record with a 9-0 win over the Blackhawks.  The nine goal margin of victory had been set in a 9-0 over Montreal in 1940.

Seven different Blueshirts scored goals and 12 of the 15 skaters had points. The only forward held scoreless was Neil Colville, while Rene Trudell and Cal Gardner both had three points to lead the team.

The nine goal differential was a record that stood until a 12-1 win over the California Golden Seals  in November, 1971.  That 11 goals margin is the most ever for the Rangers. The NHL record is 15, set by the Detroit Red Wings in a 15-0 win over the Rangers in January 1944.

Today’s birthdays

Tim Kerr was born on this date in 1960 in Windsor, Ontario.  He topped the 50 goal mark four times for the Philadelphia Flyers, tormenting the Rangers in mid-1980s.  The Rangers finally got him in 1991-92 after he was claimed by San Jose in the expansion draft, swapping Brian Mullen to the Sharks.  Injuries limited the 32-year-old to only 32 games in his only season in New York, scoring seven goals. The Blueshirts traded him to Hartford after that one season.

Five New York Rangers were born on January 5, including a prolific scorer for the Flyers and a player with one of the more colorful names in franchise history.

John Brenneman was a left winger who played 33 games over two seasons in New York in the mid-1960s.  He was born on January 5, 1943 in Fort Erie, Ontario.

Brian McReynolds was born on this day in 1965 in  Penetanguishene, Ontario.  A center, he was drafted  by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 1985 Entry Draft.  Never signed by New York, he played nine games for Winnipeg in 1989-90.  The Rangers traded for him and he became one of those players that played only one game in a Ranger uniform.

Corey Potter was a defenseman born on this date in Lansing, Michigan in 1984.  He was a Ranger draft pick in 2003 and made it to New York for eight games over two seasons in 2008-10 before signing as a free agent with the Penguins.  The former Michigan State Spartan played for six different NHL teams, but totaled only 130 games.

Zellio Toppazzini was born on January 5, 1930 in Copper Cliff, Ontario. Besides possessing a helluva name, he played 123 games in the NHL including 71 over two seasons with the Rangers.  Toppazzini was a right winger who was a star for the Rhode Island Reds in the AHL after his stint in New York.

After retiring, Toppazzini became the coach of Providence College for four seasons until he was replaced by Lou Lamoriello.   He is the great-uncle of NHL player Justin Williams.

Looking back

Every day we look back at games played last year, five and ten years ago.  There was no game last January, but it was good news on the other two days.

Last year – 2020: No game

5 years ago – 2016:  Ranger 6, Dallas 2

On this date in 2016, the Rangers dominated the Dallas Stars in a 6-2 win at Madison Square Garden.  Derek Stepan scored twice for the Blueshirts.  It was the best outing of Jayson Megna’s career as a Ranger. Megna had been signed as a free agent and spent most of the season in Hartford.

Megna made his Blueshirt debut in this game, scoring a goal and adding as assist and being named the third star.  Unfortunately, those were the only points he would score on Broadway and soon found himself back in the AHL.

10 years ago – 2011:  Rangers 2, Carolina 1 (Overtime)

A goaltending duel between Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Ward ended in a 1-1 tie and forced overtime.  3:09 into the extra period, it was Mats Zuccarello who scored, on assists from Brandon Dubinsky and Lundqvist himself.

Long Island’s Matt Gilroy scored the only regulation goal for New York.  It was the last goal that Gilroy would score as a Ranger as he left via free agency the next summer.