On January 5 NYR history: The first national hockey telecast

What happened on January 5 in the history of the New York Rangers

On January 5, 1957 the New York Rangers played in the first NHL game televised nationally in the the United States.  It also happened to be the first time the Rangers played in the afternoon at Madison Square Garden with the start time determined by the television schedule.

The announced crowd was only 9,853 including NHL President Clarence Campbell. Thousands more were able to see the game as it was televised by CBS to a network of over 100 stations throughout the United States.

The Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1, in what was described as a civil game.  There were no fights and play was clean though referee Frank Udvari did hand out ten penalties.   Newspaper accounts of the game mentioned that the players seemed  conscious of the television cameras and it held them back.

The Rangers shouldn’t have been strangers to television as WCBW (now WCBS) had televised Ranger games locally from 1945-48.    The national telecasts started in the 1956-57 season and the Chicago-New York game was the first of ten games televised that first season.

Nationally televised games in  Canada started in 1952 when Hockey Night in Canada made its debut.

A nine goal victory margin

On this date in 1947, the Rangers tied a franchise record with a 9-0 win over the Blackhawks.  The nine goal margin of victory had been set in a 9-0 over Montreal in 1940.

Seven different Blueshirts scored goals and 12 of the 15 skaters had points. The only forward held scoreless was Neil Colville, while Rene Trudell and Cal Gardner both had three points to lead the team.

The nine goal differential was a record that stood until a 12-1 win over the California Golden Seals  in November, 1971.  That 11 goals margin is the most ever for the Rangers. The NHL record is 15, set by the Detroit Red Wings in a 15-0 win over the Rangers in January 1944.

Today’s birthdays

32 NHL players have been born on January 5 with five former Rangers in that mix along with one Ranger prospect with a bright future.

Brennan Othmann was born on this date in 2003 in Scarborough, Ontario.  He was selected 16th overall by the Rangers in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a left winger, currently playing for the Flint Firebirds of the OHL and he’s having a fabulous season for the with 21 goals and 39 points in 26 games.  He’s a high energy player who is serving as alternate captain for Flint.

Tim Kerr was born on this date in 1960 in Windsor, Ontario.  He topped the 50 goal mark four times for the Philadelphia Flyers, tormenting the Rangers in mid-1980s.  The Rangers finally got him in 1991-92 after he was claimed by San Jose in the expansion draft, swapping Brian Mullen to the Sharks.  Injuries limited the 32-year-old to only 32 games in his only season in New York, scoring seven goals. The Blueshirts traded him to Hartford after that one season.

John Brenneman was a left winger born on January 5, 1943 in Fort Erie, Ontario.  Brenneman played 33 games over two seasons in New York in the mid-1960s.  He played 152 games in five seasons for five different NHL teams.

Brian McReynolds was born on this day in 1965 in  Penetanguishene, Ontario.  A center, he was drafted  by the Rangers in the sixth round of the 1985 Entry Draft.  Never signed by New York, he played nine games for Winnipeg in 1989-90.  The Rangers traded for him and he became one of those players that played only one game in a Ranger uniform.

Corey Potter was a defenseman born on this date in Lansing, Michigan in 1984.  He was a Ranger draft pick in 2003 and made it to New York for eight games over two seasons in 2008-10 before signing as a free agent with the Penguins.  The former Michigan State Spartan played for six different NHL teams, but totaled only 130 games.

Zellio Toppazzini was born on January 5, 1930 in Copper Cliff, Ontario. Besides possessing a helluva name, he played 123 games in the NHL including 71 over two seasons with the Rangers.  Toppazzini was a right winger who was a star for the Rhode Island Reds in the AHL after his stint in New York.  After retiring, Toppazzini coached at Providence College for four seasons until he was replaced by Lou Lamoriello.   He is the great-uncle of NHL player Justin Williams.

The numbers

January 5 is a good day in Rangers’ history with only six regulation losses in 33 games.

Games: 33
Regulation wins: 14
Regulation losses: 6
Ties: 8
Overtime wins: 3
Overtime losses: 1
Shootout losses: 1
Points percentage: .667