January 22 in NYR history: Mike Richter’s shining All-Star moment

What happened on January 22 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1994, a magical season continue for the New York Rangers and for Mike Richter in particular.  It might have been a coincidence, but the All-Star Game was played in New York City at Madison Square Garden and it was Richter who was named the MVP.

Richter was one of four Rangers on the East Conference roster, joining starters Mark Messier and Brian Leetch and backup Adam Graves.   The East won the game, 9-8.

Richter played the second period and stopped 19 of 21 shots.  Little did Ranger fans know, but Richter’s All-Star appearance may have played  a role in their Stanley Cup win as he had to stop Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks on three breakaways.

No one will ever forget Bure’s penalty shot in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals that was stopped by Richter in one of the turning points of that series.

Too sick to coach

In a bizarre turn of events, on this date in 1987, Rangers Coach Tom Webster had to step down and take a medical leave.  He was replaced by General Manager Phil Esposito.  Webster had been dealing with an inner ear infection for weeks and he had to be hospitalized after it flared up on a flight from Vancouver to Edmonton.

When it was determined that he couldn’t fly because of the ailment, he had to officially resign in April.   Because of the ailment, Webster could only coach 18 games for the Rangers.  The 38 year old had been hired by Esposito  in November as a replacement for the fired Ted Stor.

A milestone for Pat LaFontaine

On this date in 1998, Pat LaFontaine notched his 1,000th point in a 4-3 loss to the Flyers at Madison Square Garden.  LaFontaine scored a goal and added an assists to reach the  1,000 point threshold and finish the night with 1,001.  The 32-year old had no idea that he would score only 12 more points as he suffered a career ending concussion in March in a collision in practice.

He played only one season with Blueshirts as a result, but still scored 23 goals.  He is one of the best NHL players born in the United States and his average of 1.17 points per game is the best of any U.S. born players.  He was traded to the Rangers after the Buffalo Sabres refused to let him play due to concussions.  He insisted on the trade because he believed he could still play.

Today’s birthdays

27 NHL players have been born on January 22 with three who played for the Rangers including one Stanley Cup winner.

Greg Gilbert was born on this date in 1962 in Mississauga, Ontario.  Gilbert was a fourth round draft pick of the New York Islanders and he spent his first eight years with them before a trade to Chicago.

The left winger had good timing,signing with the Rangers as a free agent in time for the 1993-94 season. He played 76 games in the regular season and 23 more games in the playoffs as he won his third Cup, the first two with the Islanders.    He was claimed on waivers by the Blues and retired after two more seasons, later turning up as the coach of the Calgary Flames.

Tom Younghans was born on January 22, 1953 in St. Paul, Minnesota. A star at the University of Minnesota, he was signed with the Minnesota North Stars where he remained for six years.  The right winger finished his NHL career as a New York Ranger, playing 47 games in the 1981-82 season.

John Mitchell was an NHL center who was born on this date in 1985 in Oakville, Ontario. He played nine years in the NHL with Toronto, Colorado and the Rangers.  His stint in New York was the shortest, only 63 games in the 2011-12 season.  He did play 18 games in the playoffs that year as the Rangers got to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The numbers

January 22 is one of the best days in the month of January for the Rangers with 22 wins in 37 games.

Games: 37
Regulation wins:  20
Regulation losses: 13
Ties: 2
Overtime wins:  1
Shootout wins: 1
Points percentage: .621

Last year

This was the last day of play in the NHL before the All-Star break and the Rangers were off. The topic of conversation was Artemi Panarin who had missed the last game before the break with an upper body injury and was supposed to play in the All-Star Game.  It was announced that he would be replaced by Chris Kreider.