On December 27 in NYR history: A Russian spanking

What happened on December 27th in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1979, the New York  Rangers got taught a lesson by a very talented Russian Red Army team.  The Blueshirts kicked off the Super Series1980 by hosting the Moscow Central Red Army Team at Madison Square Garden.  The Russians beat the Rangers easily, 5-2 in front of 17,429 fans, nearly a full house.

It was seven years after the Summit Series when North American hockey fans were introduced to the incredibly skilled and artistic style of Russian hockey.  Many of the players on the Red Army team were the core of the Russian national team that would get stunned at Lake Placid in less than two months.

How good was that team? Players included Sergei Makarov, Helmut Balderis, Boris Mikhailov, Vladimir Krutov. Vladimir Petrov, Valeri Kharlamov, Sergei Kapustin, Viacheslav Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov and in goal was Vladislav Tretiak.  It was an all-star team.

The Rangers were the same team that had made it to the Stanley Cup Final the previous season and though this was an exhibition game, with its cold war overtones, there was no doubt that the Blueshirts wanted to win.

The Rangers actually took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Steve Vickers and in the first period, played the Red Army team evenly, using a heavy forecheck and throwing the body.   The Blueshirts strategy was to send one player in deep to forecheck and keep four players back on the blue line.

In the second period the Red Army adapted to the Rangers’ strategy and exploited it through pinpoint breakout passes.  It resulted in a blowout as the Russians scored all five of their goals in a 14 minute span.  As Dave Maloney told the New York Times, “We played with them for two periods, but they blew us out in the second.”  Ron Greschner added a third period goal to make the score 5-2.

Tretiak was in goal for Red Army while Steve Baker was in net for the Blueshirts.   The Rangers noted the superior physical conditioning of the Russian players and Maloney had an interesting observation about the Soviet style of play.    “They are in good shape.  I think that has to do with the different lifestyles and the different ways people think about different things.  I don’t know if the way society is here you could incorporate that strict style of discipline into the game.”

Rangers coach Fred Shero missed the game due to cracked ribs he suffered in a fall at home over the Christmas holiday.

Central Red Army and Dynamo Moscow played nine teams in Super Series 1980.    Red Army beat the Rangers, Islanders and Nordiques while losing to the Canadiens and Sabres.  Dynamo went 2-1-1 in their games.

The Super Series was played on an irregular basis from 1975 to 1991.  The Rangers lost all four games they played against Russian teams.

A night for the Z’s (and Pavelec)

On this date in 2017, the Rangers played 65 minutes of scoreless hockey at Madison Square Garden against the Capitals before winning 1-0 in a shootout.  It was Ondrej Pavelec‘s finest moment as a New York Ranger as he got his only shutout as a Blueshirt.

After the scoreless overtime the teams went to the shootout with the Rangers shooting first.  Mats Zuccarello put a nifty backhander past Philip Grubauer.

Pavelec stopped shootout specialist T.J. Oshie.  Then it was Mika Zibanejad‘s turn for heroics.

All that was left for Pavelec was for him to stop one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history, Alexander Ovechkin.

That was the last time that the Rangers played a 0-0 tied that ended in a shootout.  It’s happened seven times in  franchise history since the shootout was adopted in 2005-06.   The Rangers have won four times and Henrik Lundqvist has been in net for five the games.  Steve Valiquette and this game with Pavelec were in net for the only two that Lundqvist missed and his replacements won both times.

Today’s birthdays

15 NHL players have been born on December 27.  One played for the New York Rangers.

Defenseman Brad Brown was born in 1975 in Baie Verte, Newfoundland  and was a first round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens.  After two seasons with Chicago he was traded to the Rangers for the 2000-01 season when he played 48 games scoring one goal and four points.  He departed via free agency after that season. He played three more NHL season before ending his career in the AHL.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 34 games on December 27 in franchise history. They have a winning record on the date.

Games: 34
Regulation wins: 17
Regulation losses: 13
Ties: 2
Overtime losses: 1
Shootout wins: 1
Points percentage:  .573