On September 27 in Rangers history: Birth of the best rivalry in sports

What happened on September 27 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1972 one of the best rivalries in sports was born.  It marks the date of the first game ever between the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders.  It was a preseason game, but it was the first time the Islanders ever played in their inaugural season at the Nassau Coliseum.  The Rangers won, 6-4.

11,053 fans turned out for the game with estimate that the crowd was split 50/50 between fans of the Rangers and supporters of the Isles.  It was the first game between two teams from New York since the Brooklyn Americans folded in 1942.

The Coliseum was still rough around the edges and they had to borrow a scoreboard from the local Skateland rink.  The photographers from local newspapers also walked out of the game as their press area had not been provided as promised. Thus, there are no photos of this historic event.

The Rangers’ Glen Sather scored the first goal at the Coliseum, less than two minutes into the game on the power play.  Billy Harris tied the game for the Islanders late in the first period but that was countered by a goal by Walt Tkaczuk and the Rangers never relinquished the lead.

The Islanders would go on to post a 12-60-6 record under coach Phil Goyette. They lost all six games to the Rangers that season, but just two years later, they upset the Blueshirts in the playoffs, jump starting a fantastic rivalry.

The Flower signs

On this date in 1988, Guy Lafleur signed a one-year contract to play for the Rangers, coming back from three years of retirement and just weeks after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Lafleur had retired during the 1984-85 season after a bad start and seeing his ice time reduced by Canadiens’ coach Jacques Lemaire.

After sitting out three seasons, he decided to mount a comeback and after being rebuffed by the Los Angeles Kings he got the go-ahead to report to Rangers training camp from GM Phil Esposito.  He played well enough to sign the contract the two sides had decided on before he reported and Lafleur thrilled the hockey world, playing 67 games while scoring 18 goals and 45 points.

While it was nowhere near the heights he had achieved as one of the greatest scorers in NHL history, the 37-year-old Lafleur provided enough thrills. He matched his career high with four assists in one game and scored his last NHL hat trick in February.

The highlight of the season was his return to the Montreal Forum.  Despite the Rangers losing 7-5, Lafleur brought back glorious memories with two goals and an assist.

He played two more seasons in the NHL, signing with the Quebec Nordiques.  In another benefit from this remarkable comeback, the Rangers got a fifth round draft pick from Quebec as compensation for Lafleur’s signing and with the pick they selected future Hall of Famer Sergei Zubov.

The first outdoor game

Playing outdoors has become an annual event in the NHL these days, but in 1991, the Rangers played in the first outdoor game in NHL history and they did it in the most unusual venue.  They played in Las Vegas in 85 degree heat.

It was a masterful feat of engineering as they were ale to create a playable ice surface at the Caesars Palace outdoor arena on a day when temperatures reached 95 degrees.  It required three engineering units, three times normal at a cost of $135,000.

Despite rain during the day, the ice held up. In fact it was too cold and started to crack so they had to raise the temperature.  The only other problems was an influx of insects, attracted by the arena lighting.

Oh yes, the game?  The Kings won, 5-2 and the sellout crowd of 13,000 went home happy because they saw Wayne Gretzky score a goal.  The Rangers had jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Tony Amonte and Doug Weight, but the Kings responded with five straight goals with Gretzky’s the final score.

Offside!

On this date in 1930, the NHL adopted a new rule that changed hockey offense forever.  The first big change had come in 1927 when forward passes were allowed, but only in the defensive and neutral zones. Prior to that point, a pass could only be made to a player behind the puck carrier. If a forward pass was made, play was stopped and there was a faceoff.  Imagine who that worked out!

To boost offense, in 1929-30, the NHL allowed forward passing in all three zones, but that resulted in players parking themselves in the offensive zone, waiting to receive a pass.

For the 1930-31 season, the NHL established the rule that players couldn’t proceed the puck into the offensive zone and the modern offside rule was born.

Today’s birthdays

18 NHL players have been born on September 27 with only one a former Blueshirt among them.