February 10 in NYR history: If you blinked you missed 3 goals

What happened on February 10 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1983, the New York Rangers combined with the Minnesota North Stars to set an NHL record that has never been equaled.  The two teams combined to score three goals in 15 seconds, something that has never happened again in NHL history.

Two goals came from the Rangers’ Mark Pavelich and Ron Greschner with Willi Plett adding the third.  The scoring binge was indicative of the game, won by the North Stars 7-5 on their home ice.

Amazingly, all three goals came in the final minute of the second period. With Minnesota up 5-2, Pavelich scored a power play goal at 19:18 with Greschner scoring nine seconds later. Plett then scored six seconds later.  You have go wonder if anyone left their seats early to get ahead on a food line and missed the three goals.

The 15 seconds beat the NHL record of 18 seconds, set in 1963 by the Rangers and Montreal and equaled by California and Buffalo in 1976.

No one has come close though the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres scored three times in 17 seconds in 2014 to take second place in the record books.

Big night for the birthday boy

On this date in 2019, Alexandar Georgiev turned 23 and made 55 saves in a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden.  He was the sixth rookie since 1955 to have 55 saves in a game and the second netminder to do it on his birthday.  Al Rollins of the Black Hawks first accomplished the feat in 1955.

A record winning streak

On this date in 1973, the Rangers won their 10th game in a row, tying the franchise record of 10 wins set in 1940.   They did it by beating the Islanders 6-0 at the Nassau Coliseum.

While winning ten in a row seems impressive, it pales compared to the 17 consecutive games won by the Penguins in 1992-93.  In fact, teams have won more than 10 in a row 28 times.  There have been four such streaks in the last five full NHL seasons. The closest the Rangers have come is when they won nine in a row in 2015.

The biggest trade

On February 10, 2003 the Rangers made the biggest trade in franchise history. No, not the biggest trade in terms of importance, but the biggest trade in terms of number of players.   Eight players were involved in the deal between the Blueshirts and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins sent Alex Kovalev, Dan LaCouture, Janne Laukkanen and Mike Wilson to New York in exchange for Joel Bouchard, Richard Lintner, Rico Fata and Mikael Samuelsson. The Rangers reacquired Kovalev who they had traded to Pittsburgh in 1998 for Petr Nedved.

Power play prowess

In 1952, right winger Ed Slowinski set a Rangers record, scoring three power play goals in one game.   It equaled the NHL record first set by Teeder Kennedy of Toronto in 1945.

The record was broken by Camille Henry in 1954 when he scored four power play goals in one game. That is still the NHL record, though it has been done eight times in league history.

Three lousy games

On this date in 1944, the Rangers lost their third straight game to the Detroit Red Wings.  That’s not so unusual, but it’s how they lost.  In the three games they allowed 35 goals, the most in three straight games against one team in franchise history.

They started with the worst loss in NHL history on January 23, dropping a 15-0 decision.  Less than two weeks later, on February 3, they lost 12-2.  On this date, they lost 8-3, the only of the three losses at Madison Square Garden.  Ouch.

Today’s birthdays

Only 16 NHL players have been born on February 10 with one current Ranger and two former Blueshirts in that mix.

Alexandar Georgiev was born on this date in 1996 in Ruse, Bulgaria The goalie is the first player born in Bulgaria to make it to the NHL, though his family moved to Russia when he was a child and he maintains dual citizenship.   He is in his fifth season with the Rangers after being signed as an undrafted free agent and making his debut in 2018.

Bud Poile was born on this date in 1924 in Fort William, Ontario.  The right winger played 311 games in the NHL over seven seasons with 28 of those games as a New York Ranger in 1949-50.   He was a Second Team All-Star once with Chicago, but is best known for his role as the first general manager of the expansion Philadelphia Flyers in 1967 and the Vancouver Canucks in 1970.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a builder in 1990.

Peter Popovic was a defenseman born on this date in Kokping, Sweden in 1968.  He played five years in Montreal before a trade to the Rangers.  He played one season in 1998-99 and was then traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Kevin Hatcher.  He was a stay-at-home defenseman who never scored more than two goals in a season in eight years in the NHL.

The numbers

The Rangers have played 37 games on February 10 with much success, losing only 12 of those games.

Games: 37
Regulation wins: 19
Regulation losses: 12
Ties: 5
Overtime losses: 1
Points percentage: .594