On April 8 in NYR history: An amazing assists record

What happened on April 8 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1982 , Mikko Leinonen had six assists in one playoff game, setting an NHL record that has only been equaled once by a fellow named Wayne Gretzky.   The six assists came in a 7-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers and equaled their best of five playoff series at one game apiece.

The six assists not only set an NHL playoff record for most assists in a game, it also tied the record for most points in a playoff game (since broken) and shattered the Rangers’ team record for most points in a game (four) and Jean Ratelle’s record for most assists in a game, also four.

Leinonen still holds the franchise record for most assists in a game and he is one of two NHL players who had six assists in a game a rookie, Gary Suter being the other.

Who was Mikko Leinonen?  He was a 26 year old rookie center from Finland who had joined the Rangers primarily to provide company to and translate for fellow rookie defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen.  The defenseman was so highly thought of that the Ranger signed a fellow Finn to keep their young star company.

Leinonen was no slouch. He scored 11 goals and added 20 assists in his rookie year and scored 17 goals and totaled 51 points in his second year. In 19 playoff games for the Rangers, he scored two and had 13 points. After three years, when Ruotsalainen was acclimated to New York, Leinonen was let go and signed with the Washington Capitals as a free agent.

As for the 1982 Rangers, they beat the Flyers in four games to win that series, but ran into the New York Islanders and lost in the next series 4-2.

Eddie’s only shutout

Eddie Giacomin was a legendary Ranger goalie who had 96 shutouts in his career, but on this date in 1973 he registered the only playoff shutout in his career, a 4-0 blanking of the Boston Bruins in the Quarter-Finals.  Giacomin played 65 playoff games in his career and never was able to get another shutout.

The last Ranger playoff shutout was by Henrik Lundqvist, a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens in 2017.  It was the 10th and last shutout of Lundqvist’s career, a franchise record.

Two shorthanded goals against?

On this date in 1970, the Boston Bruins set a playoff record by scoring two shorthanded goals in 44 seconds in an 8-2 win over the Blueshirts at Boston Garden.  The two shorties were part of a barrage of five goals scored in just 10:21.

The goals were scored by Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson and blew open a 3-1 game.  The Bruins eliminated the Rangers in six games in the Quarter-Finals series.

Clarence Campbell, referee

On this date in 1937, Clarence Campbell, future president of the NHL, refereed his first playoff game.  It was a 4-2 win for the Detroit Red Wings over the Rangers in Detroit. It knotted the Final at one game each and Campbell assessed three penalties.

The Wings went on to win the Cup, beating the Rangers in the best of five series,  3-2.  Because of the circus, the Rangers played the last four games of the Final in Detroit.

Today’s birthdays

23 NHL players have been born on April 8, but not a single New York Ranger can call today his birthday.

The numbers

Only 10 regular season games on April 8, exceeded by 14 playoff games.  Unfortunately, the Rangers have a losing record in both.

Games: 10
Regulation wins: 3
Regulation losses: 6
Overtime wins: 1
Points percentage: .400

Playoffs games: 14
Wins: 5
Losses: 8
Overtime wins: 1
Winning percentage: 43%