December 17 in NYR history: Shocking news from the King

What happened on December 17 in the history of the New York Rangers

One year ago on this date, fans of the New York Rangers got shocking news.  Henrik Lundqvist announced that due to a heart condition, he would not be able to play hockey. He might have signed with the Washington Capitals after being bought out by the Rangers, but he had played his entire career as a Ranger and the news shook all fans of the team.

Lundqvist announced the news in a post on Twitter. ““After many weeks of tests and conversations with specialists around the country, it’s been determined that a heart condition will prevent me from taking the ice.  Together we have decided that the risk of playing before remedying my condition is too high, so I will spend the coming months figuring out the best course of action.”

The Rangers issued a statement after the announcement.   “We have no doubt that Henrik Lundqvist will face this challenge with the same fierce determination and grace that made him one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play the game of hockey, and an inspiration to all of us,”

Now, we all know that Lundqvist had open heart surgery in January and after recuperation he decided that he had to retire from the sport, although he had intended to try to resume his playing career.

The heart condition meant that Lundqvist never played for Washington and retired as a lifelong Blueshirt.  He is a sure fire Hall of Famer, a Vezina Trophy winner and he holds nearly every franchise goaltending record including 459 wins and 64 shutouts.

A most unusual penalty shot record for the New York Rangers

The date was December 17, the year was 2008 and the place was the Staples Center in Los Angeles.  Perhaps most unusual was the player, New York Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival.  He did what no other Ranger has ever done and only one other NHL player has done since overtime was re-introduced in 1983.  He scored on a penalty shot in regulation time and then scored the overtime game winner.

The first player to accomplish this feat was Steve Thomas of the Mighty Ducks in 2003, but the fact that it was a defenseman makes this all the more unusual.  That is was Rozsival makes it even more.

Consider this. Michal Rozsival played 16 years and 964 games in the NHL and he scored 68 goals in that time, about four goals per season.  He scored two goals in a game only three times, this the third and last time.

Rozsival was awarded the penalty shot in the second period with the scored tied 1-1.  Jarret Stoll broke his stick and rookie defender Drew Doughty shot part of the broken stick toward the point where Rozsival was trying to play the puck.  On the penalty shot, Rozsival beat Kings goalie Jason LeBarbara with a backhander.

After Dustin Brown tied the score early in the third period, the game went to overtime. 3:41 into the five minute overtime, Rozsival took a one-timer for the game winner.

Rozsival also scored an overtime playoff goal for the Rangers in April 2007, beating the Buffalo Sabres.

Multiple milestones

On this date in 1935 no less than five New York Rangers played in their 500th NHL game.  The players were Bill Cook, Bun Cook, Frank Boucher, Ching Johnson and Murray Murdoch and it was a 1-1 tie with the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.

If you are wondering how five teammates could all play in their 500th game in the same game, the answer is simple and pretty amazing.  All five were original New York Rangers and each of them had never missed a regular season game in just over nine seasons.  Not a single missed game in nine seasons for all five players.  Wow.

In case you are wondering, the first five years the Rangers were in the league, the NHL season was 44 games long.  Starting in 1931-32 the NHL went to a 48 game season.

A dark day

On this date in 1975, Billy Smith got the first shutout ever for the New York Islanders over the Rangers.  It was the 12th shutout in Islanders history as the Isles beat the Rangers 3-0.   To make it even worse, it took place at Madison Square Garden.

It was Smith’s only regular season shutout against the Rangers.  He had one playoff shutout over the Rangers in 1983.

Goodbye Cleveland

In 1977 on this date, the Rangers played their last game in Cleveland, Ohio, losing to the Cleveland Barons 4-2. The Barons had played two seasons in Cleveland after moving from the Bay Area in California.  After the 1977-78 season, the financially struggling Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars, also having financial issues.

The game wasn’t actually in Cleveland as the Barons played in the Coliseum of Richfield, located in a Cleveland suburb.   The Rangers met the Barons in Richfield four times in two years and this was their only loss as they went 2-1-1.

Today’s birthdays

15 NHL players have been born on December 17 including only one former New York Ranger.

On this date in1983 Erik Christensen was born in Edmonton, Alberta.  He played for five different NHL teams in a seven year career.  He played 132 games for the Rangers from 2009 to 2012, scoring 20 goals and 58 points. A center, he was a waiver pick up from Anaheim known for his ability to win faceoffs and for his shootout ability.  He led the NHL in shootout goals with eight in 2006-07 as a Penguin.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 40 times on December 17 and they are barely above .500 in regulation, but their .562 points percentage is boosted by their winning three of four games in overtime or by shootout.

Games: 40
Regulation wins: 16
Regulation losses: 14
Ties: 6
Overtime wins: 2
Shootout wins: 1
Overtime losses: 1
Points percentage: .562