On October 9 in Rangers history: Hat tricks, scoring records & losing streaks

What happened on October 9 in the history of the New York Rangers

October 9 is a date that has been the season opener for the Rangers in many seasons and there have some notable accomplishments including some auspicious debuts.  Many current Ranger fans will remember the team’s 2010 opening game in Buffalo.  Rookie center Derek Stepan scored three goals setting a franchise record for most goals and points by a rookie in his first NHL game.

Stepan had been drafted out of the University of Wisconsin in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. After two years at Wisconsin he turned pro and made his debut in this game.

Stepan had three shots on goal and scored on all three as the Rangers won 6-3.  He scored on his first NHL shot to give the Rangers a lead that they would never relinquish. It was the first of three hat tricks for Stepan in his seven years as a Blueshirt.

Another rookie record

In 1980 on this date, rookie Mike Allison set a franchise record when he scored on his first shot in his Rangers debut.   At the age of 19 years, 195 days, he became the youngest player to score in his first game for the Rangers .  It was the only highlight for the Rangers as they were routed by the Bruins 7-2 at the Boston Garden.

Allison’s record stood for over 37 years until Lias Andersson scored on March 26, 2018 at age 19 years, 164 days in his debut against the Washington Capitals.

Allison and Andersson were young when they scored, but nowhere near the age of the youngest Ranger to ever score.  That was Don “Bones” Raleigh who scored in 1943 at the age of 17 years, 147 days.  He’s the second youngest player to ever score a goal in the NHL.

Just two days later, Allison became the youngest Ranger to ever get three points in a game when he had a hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Getting the Capitals off to a bad start

On this date in 1974, the  Washington Capitals played the first game in their history and lost to the Rangers, 6-3 at Madison Square Garden.   Those Capitals were a far cry from the perennial playoff team we now know.  With the loss, the Rangers started the Capitals on a NHL record 37-game road losing streak,  a record that was broken by the Ottawa Senators in 1992-93.

The Rangers were happy to do their part in establishing the worst season in the history of the NHL as the Capitals went 8-67-5.   That season the Caps also set NHL records with 17 straight losses (equaled by the San Jose Sharks), the fewest home wins in an 80 game season (6) and the fewest road wins in an 80-game season (1), also equaled by the Senators.

Two quick goals

On this date in 1991, the Rangers set a franchise record when Kris King and James Patrick scored five seconds apart in a 5-3 win over the Islanders at Madison Square Garden. The two goals equaled a record that had been set in in 1936 by Neil Colville and Phil Watson and matched twice more.

The 1991 goals are considered a franchise record, although the NHL record books show the goals five seconds apart.  They were actually scored four and eight-tenth seconds apart as the team had the benefit of game clock divided into tenths of a second during the last minute of the game.

The first goal was a go-ahead goal by King with only 15.8 seconds left and was disputed by the Islanders who felt that goalie Glenn Healy had frozen the puck.  The Patrick goal was an empty netter with only ten seconds left.

Ties and more ties

On this date in 1997, the Rangers played a 1-1 tie in Calgary with the Flames.  With the tie, they set an NHL record, starting the season with four consecutive draws.  They had opened the season with a 2-2 tie at home against the Islanders then had the same score against the Kings at the Garden two days later.  They then traveled to Edmonton for a 3-3 tie with the Oilers.

They finally broke the tie streak with a 6-3 win in Vancouver on October 11.

The Rangers finished the season with 18 ties, the second most in one season for the team. The 1950-51 Rangers hold the record with 21 ties and the 1997-98 team equaled the same 18 ties for the 1954-55 version.

Today’s birthdays

24 NHL players have been born on October 9 and nine of them have played for the Rangers.

Bill CookWayne Thomas was a goalie, born on this date in 1947 in Ottawa, Ontario. He played eight seasons in the NHL, the last four with the Rangers after being claimed on waivers from the Maple Leafs.  He was mostly the back up to John DavidsonAl RollinsPhil De GiuseppeRem MurrayGarry PetersTony TuzzolinoJason KrogBill Allum