On January 12 in NYR history: Honoring “The Captain”
By Steve Paulus
On this date, Mark Messier’s #11 was raised to the rafters
On this date in 2006, Mark Messier’s number 11 became for fourth number retired by the New York Rangers, following Rod Gilbert, Ed Giacomin and Mike Richter. In a ceremony before Rangers’ game against the Oilers, Messier was lauded by many players from the 1994 Stanley Cup Championship team as well as players from his past in Edmonton.
The Rangers picked the date because the Blueshirts were playing the Oilers with Craig MacTavish behind the bench as coach and Kevin Lowe the general manager.
A sold out crowd drowned him out when he delivered a recorded message and their response brought him to tears.
Brian Leetch, unthinkably a Boston Bruin, sent a recorded message that was drowned out by the crowd chanting “bring him back.” It was incredibly emotional night for Messier who had played ten years in New York City in two stints and is still regarded as “The Messiah” for bringing the Cup back to New York.
As for the game, the Ranger didn’t disappoint, winning 5-4 in overtime on a goal by Messier’s successor as captain and team leader, Jaromir Jagr.
Finally, a win at Barclays
It took eight tries, but on this date in 2019, the Rangers finally won a game at the Barclays Center, beating the Islanders 2-1. Prior to this game, the Rangers had an 0-6-1 record in Brooklyn, dating back to 2015-16 when the Islanders made it their new home.
With the Isles moving to their new home, the UBS Arena in Elmont for the 2021-22 season, they have formally deserted Barclays meaning that this was the only win for the Blueshirts at that arena and the last game they played there. With the win, the have won in every NHL arena they have visited, even for arenas that teams inhabited for a short time.
Alexander Georgiev got the win,beating Robin Lehner. Mats Zuccarello scored his fifth goal of the season late in the third period to break a 1-1 tie.
Hello Winnipeg
On this date in 1980 the Rangers played their first game in Winnipeg, Manitoba, beating the Jet 3-0. It was a shutout for John Davidson with defenseman Barry Beck getting the first goal ever scored by a Ranger in that province.
These were the first incarnation of the Jets who left Winnipeg in 1996 for a new home in Phoenix. The Jets had been born in 1972 in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and were one of the WHA teams that survived when the two leagues merged in 1979.
Today’s birthdays
Of the 32 NHL players born on this date, only two played for the Rangers and both had very brief sojourns in New York.
Hall of Famer Tim Horton was born on this date in 1930 in Cochrane, Ontario. Besides founding a chain of popular doughnut shops, he was a legendary Toronto Maple Leaf who played 20 years in that city as the cornerstone of their defense.
At the end of the 1969-70 season the 40 year old Horton was traded to the Rangers and he played in New York for one full season. He wasn’t done after that as he continued to play until he was 44 years old for Pittsburgh and Buffalo.
Jayson More was born on this date in 1969 in Souris, Manitoba. More was a first round draft pick for the Rangers in 1987, selected 10th overall. More played only 15 games as a Ranger, making his debut as a 19 year old. He was traded to San Jose and played 10 years as an NHL defenseman.
It was another in a long history of bad Ranger draft pick. Players who were selected after More include Joe Sakic, John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, Ted Donato, Andrew Cassels and Mathieu Schneider.
The numbers
The Rangers have played 40 times on January 12 over the years, barely breaking even.
Games: 40
Regulation wins: 16
Regulation losses: 14
Ties: 7
Overtime wins: 2
Shootout losses: 1
Points percentage: .550
Looking back
Every day we look back at games played on this day last year, five years and ten years ago. January 12 was a quiet day for the Rangers on this date.