On September 20 in Rangers history: A unique preseason game in Philadelphia

What happened on September 20 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 2001, the New York Rangers took on the Philadelphia Flyers in a preseason game at the First Union Center.  It was the Blueshirts’ second game since the attacks on September 11 and their first game on the road.  With emotions still raw from the attacks just over a week before, the game ended up as one of the most unique in team history.

This was the night that President George Bush was going to address the nation in a speech to a joint session of Congress. It was scheduled to start during the game at 9pm and that’s what made this match unique.

The two teams played 40 minutes of standard preseason hockey.  Each team scored twice and there were six fights and two game misconducts.  During the second intermission, the President’s speech was put up on the big screen over center ice.  Nearly all of the fans at the arena stayed seated to watch President Bush.

When the teams came back on the ice to play the third period, they shut off the speech and prepared to play and the fan went absolutely nuts, booing and calling for the telecast to be restored.  The 19,117 fans chanted “Leave it on.”

Ron Ryan, the COO of the Flyers, ordered the speech to be shown and the fans watched for the next 36 minutes. They were joined by the players who remained on their benches and some who knelt on the ice.

There was no doubt that it was the will of the fans to watch the speech and for that night, a game that they had paid to see was secondary.

There were chants of “USA, USA” throughout the address and cheers when Bush recognized Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge and for probably the first time in Flyers’ history, their fans cheered when the President singled out two New Yorkers,  Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

When the speech concluded, the teams decided to not play the rest of the game and lined up for handshakes, standard for playoff games, but never seen during the preseason. The stars and stripes waved on the big screen and the announcement was made that the third period was cancelled “out of respect for where the United States was headed in the near future.”

After the game, Brian Leetch told reporters ”We get paid to play this game because the people want to watch us, but they made it clear what they wanted to watch.”

Rangers Coach Ron Low seconded that, saying, ”Hockey is secondary to what is happening now and that was very obvious when they tried to shut the screen down and the fans said no.”

The Rangers’ rivalry with the Flyers goes back for decades, but on this night in Philadelphia, they were all on the same team.

Today’s birthdays

19 NHL players have been born on September 20 including five New York Rangers, one a Hall of Famer. It’s also the birthday of a prospect who hopes to have a long career in New York.

Braden Schneider was born on this date in 2001 in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.  The defenseman was a first round draft pick by the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and the Blueshirts have high hopes for him, selecting him 19th overall.   He’s a tough, physical right shot defenseman who starred for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL.

Guy Lafleur was born on this date in 1951 in Thurso, Quebec.  He was one of the greatest players in the history of the Montreal Canadiens, a three-time Art Ross Trophy winner, two-time Hart Trophy winner, three-time Pearson Award winner and the 1977 Conn Smythe Trophy winner. A five-time Stanley Cup champion, he retired from hockey in 1985, only to make a comeback with the Rangers in 1988.  In one of the great hockey stories, he came back and scored 18 goals in 67 games for the Rangers. The 37-year old provided numerous thrills including a four-assist game in December and a hat trick against the Kings in February 1989.   He played two more seasons with the Quebec Nordiques before retiring for good in 1991,

Jan Hlavac was a left winger, born on this date in 1976 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.  Originally drafted by the Islanders, Hlavac was dealt to Calgary and came to the Rangers in a trade in 1999. He played two season for the Rangers, scoring 28 goals in 2000-01.  He was then part of the package traded to the Flyers for Eric Lindros.  After stints in Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Carolina, he found his way back to the Rangers as a free agent in 2003.  After one season he went on to play with Tampa and Nashville before finishing his career in Europe.

Brandon Mashinter was a physical left winger who was born on September 20, 1988 in Bradford, Ontario.  He played 10 games over two seasons for the Rangers in a four-year stint in the NHL when he played 64 games. He had a long career in the AHL and retired in 2015.

Jeff Nielsen was a right winger, born on this date in 1971 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  Drafted in the fourth round of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Rangers, he made it to New York in 1997 for two scoreless games after three seasons with the Binghamton Rangers. He signed that summer with the Mighty Ducks and played three seasons in Anaheim before returning to his birth state for his last NHL season with the Minnesota Wild.

Ray Cullen was born on this date in 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario.  He was a center who played eight games for the Rangers in 1965-66.  He went on to 313 games in the NHL for Detroit, Minnesota and Vancouver.  He was an original Minnesota North Star and was second on the team with 28 goals in their inaugural season.  His brother, Brian, played two seasons for the Rangers before Ray made his debut with the Blueshirts. He had another brother, Barry, who was also an NHL player.