On December 12 in NYR history: Historic achievement for Brad Park

What happened on December 12 in the history of the New York Rangers

For 45 years from 1926 until this date in 1971 there was one accomplishment that no New York Ranger had ever achieved, a hat trick by a Blueshirt defenseman.  Brad Park finally became the first one to do it and he did it in style, with a natural hat trick, scoring the three goals in a row.    He did it in a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden.

The first two goals were on the power play in the second period.  He set the record two and a half minutes into the third period with an even strength goal.   Park notched two more hat tricks in his Rangers career before his trade to Boston in 1975.

While hat tricks by Rangers defensemen were a rarity,  Park’s started an avalanche of hat tricks.  He got his second hat trick just three months later, but had to wait until 1975 for his third.  The defenseman he was traded for, Carol Vadnais got a hat trick in 1976.  He was followed by Ron Greschner  in 1978,  Dave Maloney in 1980 and Reijo Ruotsalainen  in1982.  In 1995, Brian Leetch got the only hat trick of his career and it was in the playoffs.  That was followed by a 25 year drought until Tony DeAngelo got a hat trick in 2020 against the Devils.

The only Ranger to duplicate Park’s achievement of scoring a natural hat truck was Ruotsalainen who had three straight goals against the Flyers on St. Patrick’s Day.

Record setters

On this date in 1929 the Rangers pummeled the Montreal Canadiens 8-3 at Madison Square Garden.  The team set two records that day, scoring eight goals for the first time at home and also scoring five goals in one period for the first time at MSG.

Frank Boucher, Bill Cook and Leo Bourgeault, scored two goals in the game and Boucher added two assists for a team high four points.

December 12, 1935 saw one of the oddest overtime games in franchise history.  The Rangers and New York Americans finished regulation tied 2-2.  In those days, instead of sudden death overtime,  the teams played a ten minute OT period and the Blueshirts made quick work in winning the game.  Frank Boucher scored twice and Bun Cook added a third OT goal for a 5-2 win.

The oddity was that the Rangers scored the three goals in 69 seconds as Boucher scored at 2:05, again at 2:32 and Cook at 3:14 of overtime. All three goals were scored by the same line and that’s where the record was set.

Winger Glen Brydson set an NHL record for the fastest three assists when he added a helper on all three goals. He held the record until 1952 when Gus Bodnar of the Blackhawks did  the same in just 21 seconds.  Brydson is still in the record books in fifth place and it’s safe to say that no one will ever accomplish the feat again in a single overtime.

A record was set on this date in 1953, but not by a Ranger.  In 1953 Maurice Richard became the NHL’s all-time leading scorer with a goal and two assists in a 7-2 win over the Rangers at the Montreal Forum.

Debuts

In 1926, the Boston Bruins played their first game ever against the Rangers at the Garden (they had played the New York Americans there previously).   The Rangers won 2-1 in overtime.  The B’s played 275 regular season games at the old Garden going 101-119-55 against the Blueshirts.  They’ve done much better at the current Garden with a 50-4-7-64 record.

In 1974 the Rangers played their first game in the nation’s capital, facing the Washington Capitals in their inaugural season and finishing with an embarrassing 6-6 tie.  The tie broke a seven game losing streak for the Caps who endured one of the worst seasons in NHL history, going 8-67-5.   They beat the Blueshirts later in the season and their three points were the most against an established NHL team that campaign.

In 1982, a rivalry was born when the Devils played their first game at Madison Square Garden.  Ed Mio was in goal for the Rangers and he notched a 4-0 shutout.

Today’s birthdays

26 NHL players have been born on December 12 with four former Rangers in that group. One of them belongs in a list of Stanley Cup oddities.

Clint Smith was both on this date in 1913 in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan.   He played center for the Rangers for seven years from 1936 to 1943, winning the Stanley Cup in 1940.  He was the first Ranger not named Frank Boucher to win the Lady Byng Trophy, in 1939 after Boucher had won the award a record seven times.  He led the league in games played twice for the Blueshirts  and finished in the top ten in scoring five times in his career.  He finished his career playing four years with the Blackhawks and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

John McKenzie was born on this date in 1937 in High River, Alberta. Nicknamed “Pie,” the right winger had a brief career as a Ranger, playing 35 games in 1965-66 after being acquired from Chicago.  The Rangers dealt him midseason to the Bruins for Reg Fleming. It was with Boston that he excelled, playing seven seasons and winning two Stanley Cups. He was lured to the WHA in 1972 where he played the last seven years of his career.

Bill MacKenzie was a defenseman, born on December 12, 1911 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He played a half season with the Rangers in 1934-35, on loan from the Montreal Maroons. In an oddity, though he was with the Rangers when they were defeated by the Maroons in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, his named was listed on the Cup when the Maroons won the championship that year. He is listed a second time, with the 1938 Cup-winning Chicago Black Hawks. That one is legitimate.

Eddie Kullman was born on this date in 1923 in Winnipeg,Manitoba.  The right winger played his entire 343 game NHL career with the Rangers, from 1947 to 1954.  He was known as one of the best defensive forwards of his time and was given the responsibility for shadowing the opposition’s top scorers  His diligence once infuriated Maurice Richard so much that the Rocket clubbed him over the head with his stick.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 42 games on December 12 with decidedly mixed results.

Games:  42
Regulation wins:  16
Regulation losses:  16
Ties:  5
Overtime wins: 3
Overtime losses:  2
Points percentage:   .535