On September 24 in Rangers history: Gilbert spurs a Summit Series comeback

What happened on September 24 in the history of the New York Rangers

Canada and the Soviet Union played game six of the Summit Series with the Canadians winning 3-2.  It was a must win game as Canada was trailing in the series 1-3-1.   They knew that they needed to win all three remaining games to win the series.  A New York Rangers player had a key role in getting Canada started.

It was Rod Gilbert who got the comeback started as Dennis Hull put in the rebound of a Gilbert shot 5:13 into the second period, with the Soviets ahead 1-0.  The goal started an onslaught of three goals in 83 seconds, the only goals the Canadians would get in this game.

The second period got chippy as Bobby Clarke targeted Soviet star Valeri Kharlamov for special treatment with a vicious two handed slash at Kharlamov’s ankle.  It drew a slashing minor and a ten minute misconduct, but the slash fractured the Soviet star’s ankle and he missed the next game and played injured in series finale.

Emotions were at a high point with Soviet officials separating the 3,000 loud Canadian fans who had made the trip to Moscow, scattering them around the Moscow Sports Palace.  The strategy didn’t work as the fans were even louder in their support of Team Canada.

There were some questionable calls by the West German referees as Phil Esposito was called for a high sticking major penalty in the third period.  It became a two-man advantage when the team was given a bench minor for protesting the call.

The Canadians were able to kill off the penalties and hung on through a scoreless third period to win.

Rules changes

September 24 is a day for rules changes.  While those changes affected all teams, they made hockey a better game.  On this date in 1926, the NHL moved the blue lines, enlarging the neutral zone from 40 feet to 60 feet.   The neutral zone remained that size until 1990 when it was reduced to 54 feet.

In 1937 on this date the NHL created the modern icing rule, calling for a faceoff in the offensive zone if a team shoots the puck down the ice.  It was a huge change in the game as teams routinely used the  tactic when protecting a lead.  In a 1931 game between the Bruins and the Americans in Boston, the Americans protected a 3-2 lead by clearing the puck over 50 times. There was almost a riot by Boston fans who pelted the ice with debris.   In retaliation, the Bruins iced the puck 87 times in a game at Madison Square Garden two weeks later to protect a 0-0 tie.

Today’s birthdays

17 NHL players have been born on September 24 with two former Rangers who were recently on the team.

Steven Kampfer was born on this date in 1988 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Currently with the Boston Bruins, the defenseman played parts of two seasons with the Rangers.   He was signed as a free agent in 2014 with New York, but was traded to Florida before he played for them.  The Rangers got him back from the Panthers in a 2016 trade for Dylan McIlrath.  After appearing in 32 games as a Ranger, he was swapped to Boston for Adam McQuaid.

Paul Carey was born in 1988 on September 24 in Boston, Massachusetts.  He is a center who is currently playing in the Swedish Hockey League.  After seeing limited action in Colorado and Washington, he signed as a free agent with the Rangers in 2017.   He made the starting lineup out of training camp and played 60 games that season, scoring seven goals and 14 points. After one season in New York, he signed with the Ottawa Senators and also played for Boston before departing for Europe.