On May 5 in NYR history: Adam Graves becomes public enemy #1

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

May 5 is one of the most notable dates in New York Rangers history with numerous events that could qualify as one of the biggest stories of the year.  We’ll start with an incident that derailed a potential Stanley Cup championship.

Adam Graves is one of the most beloved New York Rangers in franchise history.  He’s best known for his charitable work, a winner of the King Clancy Award and honored numerous times with the Steven McDonald Award and he won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2001 given to the NHL player who who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.

It’s hard to believe that on this date in 1992, Graves did something that made him the “Most Wanted” man in the NHL and for which he was vilified throughout the hockey world.   It was the Game Two of the Patrick Division Finals between the Rangers and the Penguins.

Five minutes into the first period with the Penguins ahead 1-0, Graves slashed Mario Lemieux on the wrist, the leading scorer in the NHL that season.  Lemieux fell to the ice in pain while the Garden crowd hooted in derision.  It turned out that Lemieux had a fractured wrist.

The uproar throughout the league was uniform, with calls for Graves to be banned from the NHL or at the very least, to be suspended.  Graves had only received a two minute slashing penalty, but the NHL reviewed the play and suspended him for four games.

The Rangers went on to win the game 4-2 and also the next game, but the Penguins went on to win three games in a row and take the series in seven games, an upset of the Presidents’ Trophy winning Rangers.

A beating in a beating

On this date in1974 the Rangers lost Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals to the Philadelphia Flyers, dropping a 4-3 decision.  The Broad Street Bullies went on to win the Stanley Cup, but it is what happened in that game that will do down in Rangers’ lore.

In the first period, Schultz, the toughest player in the NHL, picked a fight with Dale Rolfe, Brad Park’s defense partner.  As Schultz later told it, it was on the orders of the Flyers’ coaching staff who wanted to take Rolfe off his game.

There was a scrum near the Rangers’ net and Rolfe took two quick punches at Schultz who then hit Rolfe 18 times in rapid succession.  Then Schultz grabbed the dazed Rolfe by the hair and head-butted him.

No Ranger stepped in to stop the beating and the referees let it go on.  Brad Park later explained that Rolfe told them to stay out of it as the Rangers on the ice were Park, Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert and if any of them had interceded they would have been tossed from the game because of the new third man in rule.

Both Rolfe and Schultz got five minute fighting majors. The Rangers fell behind 3-1, but clawed back to a 4-3 deficit, but lost the game when they were called for a too many men on the ice penalty with a minute left.

A management bloodbath

On this date one year ago, the New York Rangers shocked the hockey world when they fired Team President John Davidson and General Manager Jeff Gorton.   It came just two days after Tom Wilson beat up star Artemi Panarin and one day after the Rangers issues a statement criticizing the NHL and the Department of Player Safety.

No one knows exactly what happened in the front office, but suffice to say that both Davidson and Gorton had no idea that the statement would be released.   The question remains whether their disapproval of the statement or the fact that the Rangers were physically humiliated on home ice led to their dismissal.

The firings led to the hiring of Chris Drury as President and GM and set in motion a series of changes in leadership and personnel that resulted in a return to the playoffs this season.

Fight night

One year ago, the Rangers had a rematch with the Washington Capitals in their first game since the “Tom Wilson” incident.   With the Blueshirts intent on sending a message, there were three fights as soon as the puck was dropped between Kevin Rooney and Nic Dowd, Colin Blackwell and Garnet Hathaway, and Phil Di Giuseppe and Carl Hagelin.

50 seconds later, when Tom Wilson got on the ice he was immediately challenged and fought Brendan Smith.  Two minutes later there were fights between Anthony Bitetto and Michael Raffl followed by Ryan Strome tangling with Lars Eller.

It was the first game in NHL history to feature six fights in the first five minutes of a game.  It ended in a 4-2 win for Washington as the Rangers were handed 85 minutes in penalties compared to 56 minutes for the Capitals.

As for Wilson, he suffered an “upper body injury” and played less than three minutes.  Pavel Buchnevich of the Rangers, one of Wilson’s victims two nights before, was tossed from the game for three separate stick fouls.

A Lady Byng Trophy for Ratelle

On this date in 1972, Jean Ratelle received the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, an award given to the “player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”

It was the 13th time that a Ranger had won that award though Frank Boucher won the award seven straight years from 1928 to 1935.  It was Ratelle’s first time to win the award and he was the first Rangers since Camille Henry to win the award since 1958.

A coach walks away

On this date in 1950, coach Lynn Patrick unexpectedly quit as coach of the Rangers to run the Victoria Cougars.   The new job was very short lived as he surfaced the next season as coach of the Boston Bruins.

He had coached the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in 1950, losing in seven games to the Detroit Red Wings despite not playing a single game in New York due to the circus.  He resigned ostensibly to run the Victoria team in the Pacific Coast Hockey League, a newly created team that was partially owned by the Patrick family.

He was then offered a big contract by the Boston Bruins and he decided to take it and he coached to the playoffs the next four years.

Lynn Patrick was the son of Rangers legend Lester Patrick and a member of the 1940 Stanley Cup championship team.  He was also the father of Craig Patrick who served as coach and GM of the Rangers.  His brother, Muzz Patrick, was also a player and coach for the Blueshirts.

Today’s birthdays

29 players were born on May 5 with only one a former New York Ranger.

Jim Conacher was born on this date in 1921 in Motherwell, United Kingdom.   Born in England and raised in Canadia, Conacher played eight years in the NHL including two seasons and 33 games with the Rangers.  He was  center who spent most of his carer with the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings.  He was not related to any of the other Conachers who have played in the NHL.

The numbers

Playoffs games: 9
Wins: 4
Losses: 4
Overtime losses: 1
Winning percentage: 44%