On February 28, 8 shutouts in a row

What happened on February 28 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1929, the New York Rangers shut out the Chicago Black Hawks, playing a 0-0 tie.  There were several reasons this game was of significance.  Unbelievably, it was the eighth straight game that the Black Hawks had been shut out.  That’s an NHL record that still stands with no team coming even close.  The next longest streak was four straight shutouts, suffered by four teams including the 1927-28 New York Rangers.

How bad was it?  The Black Hawks scored on February 5 and it was the last time they dented the twines until March 2.

The game was played in the Detroit Olympia because Chicago Stadium was under construction so the Black Hawks had to play their home games at three different arenas with only one in Chicago.

Finally, in net for the Rangers was John Ross Roach and this was his 13th shutout of the season, a franchise record that stand to this day.  Lorne Chabot and Henrik Lundqvist both came close, with 11 shutouts in one season.

A Bathgate milestone

On this date in 1960, Andy Bathgate scored his 250th career goal, becoming the first New York Range to achieve that feat and the 10th in NHL history.  The goal came in a 6-1 win over the Chicago Black Hawks in Chicago.

The winner of the Hart Trophy in 1959, Bathgate score 22 more goals for the Rangers for a total of 272, fourth most in club history. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1964 and went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Leafs that spring.

Today’s birthdays

31 NHL players have been born on February 28 including one Ranger prospect and four former Rangers including a Hall of Famer.

Defense prospect Darren Raddysh was born on this date in 1996 in Toronto, Ontario.  Raddysh was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019 and in in his third season in Hartford.

On this date in 1973, Eric Lindros was born in London, Ontario.  Lindros was one of the top power forwards in the NHL  whose career was cut short by multiple concussions.  He came to the Rangers in a blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2001.  He played three seasons in New York, but was hampered by injuries while with the Rangers.  A Hart Trophy winner with the Flyers, the perennial All-Star was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.

Mark Pavelich was born on this date in 1958 in Eveleth, Minnesota.  A member of the 1980 gold medal Olympic team, he signed with the Rangers and his former coach, Herb Brooks and played in New York for five years.  Only 5’8″ and 170 pounds, Pavelich was a skilled goal scorer and playmaker and is one of three Rangers to score five goals in one game.  The center left the team in 1986 after a dispute with coach Ted Sator.  He had two brief stints with San Jose and the Minnesota North Stars after he left New York.

Clint Albright was a center who was born on this date in 1926 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He played only one season in the NHL, with the Rangers in 1948-49, scoring 14 goals in 59 games. Albright was nicknamed “The Professor” because he was studying mechanical engineering at the University of Manitoba and for the fact that he was one of the few players to wear glasses on the ice.

Jean-Paul Denis was born on this date in 1924 in Montreal, Quebec. He had two brief stops in New York while spending most of his time with the New Haven Ramblers of the AHL.  The right winger played in ten games with the Rangers, notching one assist.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 44 mes on February 28 and are just under .500.  Their nine ties on this date are the most ties of any day in the month of February.

Games: 44
Regulation wins: 15
Regulation losses: 18
Ties: 9
Overtime wins: 1
Overtime losses: 1
Points percentage: .477

Last year

Flyers 5, Rangers 2

The Rangers lost the game and their nine game road winning streak as they were dismantled by the Flyers at the Wells Fargo Arena.  Alexandar Georgiev did not have a good game playing on back-to-back nights and the Rangers’ playoff hopes were slightly derailed.

The loss to the Flyers paled in comparison to the fact that Chris Kreider suffered a broken foot blocking a shot, just four days after the Rangers decided to hold on to him at the trade deadline, signing him to a seven-year $45.5 million contract.