On March 25 in NYR history: 50 goals for Hull, scoring title for Bathgate

What happened on March 25 in the history of the New York Rangers

March 25 has not been very eventful for the New York Rangers.   In fact, the most important thing to happen on this date happened to the Rangers and not by them.

On this date in 1962, Bobby Hull became the third player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season. He did it by scoring the only goal for the Chicago Black Hawks in a 4-1 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.  With 50 goals he equaled the NHL record set by Rocket Richard in 1945 and tied by Bernie Geoffrion in 1961.  It is worth nothing that Richard scored his 50 goals in 50 games while Geoffrion and Hull did in 70 game seasons.

Besides the win, there was another positive for the Rangers.  Andy Bathgate had come into the game tied with Hull with 83 points, tied for the league point scoring lead.  Both players scored one goal and finished tied for the title with 84 points each.

That was the last time a New York Ranger led the league in scoring, though Hull was awarded the Art Ross Trophy because he scored more goals. The 59 years without a winner is the longest streak of any Original Six team.

Good-bye Quebec (sort of)

On this date in 1995, the Rangers played their last regular season game in Quebec, losing 2-1 to the Nordiques.  The Rangers finished with a record of 10-14-3 at the Quebec Coliseum.  This wasn’t the last game they ever played there as the two teams met in he Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Rangers eliminated the Nordiques in the first round.

The Nordiques relocated to Colorado the following season.  The move wasn’t for lack of success on the ice as the team finished in first place in the Northeast Division in 1994-95.

Faced with the financial difficulties that came with being located in the smallest media market in the NHL, the team was sold and moved to Denver where they were named the Colorado Avalanche and won the Stanley Cup the next season.

Today’s birthdays

26 NHL players have been born on March 25 with two former Rangers in that mix.

Bert Gardiner was a goalie born in 1913 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and he is the holder of an unusual New York Rangers record.  He is the only goaltender in franchise history to appear in only one game for the team and win it.  Signed as a free agent in October 1935, he made that on appearance before being returned to the minor leagues.  The Blueshirts regular goalie was Davey Kerr who routinely play every game each season.

Gardiner’s record held until Mackenzie Skapski won both of his appearances in the NHL, beating Buffalo each time. Magnus Hellberg joins Gardiner and Skapski as the only undefeated goaltenders in club history (with at least one decision) though Hellberg appeared in three games.

Chad Wiseman was born in 1981 on this date in Burlington, Ontario.   Wiseman, a left winger, played five games over two seasons for the Rangers, scoring one goal in 2004.  It was the only goal he scored in a nine game NHL career.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 31 regular season games and five playoff games on March 25.  Unfortunately, they have lost more than they have won.

Games: 31
Regulation wins: 10
Regulation losses: 14
Ties: 2
Overtime wins: 1
Overtime losses: 3
Shootout wins: 1
Points percentage: .468

Playoffs games: 5
Wins: 1
Losses: 3
Overtime wins: 1
Winning percentage: 40%