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New York Rangers

When the NHL had only six teams, it also had only one Gordie Howe, here pinning ref Frank Udvari and Leaf Gord Hannigan to the boards.

New York's Boucher Clicks With The Cooks

The disbanding of the PCHA and WCHL benefitted many NHL teams, but none more so than the New York Rangers, a new team that joined the league in 1926-27. From the Western circuits, the Rangers obtained Frank Boucher and one of pro hockey's most famous brother acts, Bill and Bun Cook.

Boucher, a center and a protege of the clean-playing Frank Nighbor, was a stick-handling marvel. Wrote Montreal hockey columnist Dink Carroll: "He would take the puck away from the enemy with the guile and smoothness of a con man picking the pockets of yokels at a country fair, then whisk it past the enemy goaltender or slip it to Bill or Bun."

Bill Cook, one of hockey's alltime best right wings, and Bun, a superior left wing, melded perfectly with Boucher. "Bill, Bunny, and I clicked as a line from the beginning," said Boucher. "We never put diagrams on paper. Somehow, just in describing our ideas, we'd all grasp it. Bill would do most of the talking. He'd say, `Now look, when I want that puck I'll yell for it, and you get that damn puck to me when I yell. Don't look up to see where I am; just put it there and I'll be there."'

The "drop pass," which became a standard NHL play (and is to this day) was invented by Bun Cook and executed by himself, Bill, and Boucher to perfection. "As soon as Bunny crossed the other team's blueline," said Boucher, "he faked a shot, drawing a defenseman to him. Then he left the puck for me coming in fast behind him. If the defenseman turned to cover Bun, I carried the puck on in. If he came for me, I slid it past him to Bun circling behind. And if both defensemen came for us, leaving Bill open, I'd flip the pass across to him."

They moved with the grace of figure skaters and passed the puck with radar-like accuracy. Bill was the crackerjack shot, Bun had the brawn, and Boucher had all the class in the world. The presence of the troika in the lineup assured the expansion Rangers of box-office success in a town that already had a popular team, the Americans.

Because NHL clubs in that era maintained extremely small rosters, it was not uncommon for players to remain on the ice for up to 60 minutes a game. Thus, the Cooks and Boucher were able to weave their magic all night long. And while there had been innumerable set lines before, none came close to bewitching the public in the manner of this trio.

Thanks to Boucher and the Cooks, the 1926-27 Rangers finished first in the American Division (25-13-6), an unheard-of achievement for an expansion team. Bill Cook led the NHL in scoring (33-4-37), tallying eight more goals than anyone else. Boucher and the Cooks formed the NHL's first power line, one that remained intact through the 1935-36 season. In that time, the trio played on two Stanley Cup winners (1927-28 and 1932-33) and were acknowledged as one of the greatest and most durable triumvirates in hockey history.

Rangers Win Cup As Old Man Patrick Stars In Net

In the long annals of professional hockey, there have been many instances where goaltenders have been hurt and unlikely replacements rushed in to plug the gap. But the granddaddy of all such episodes - and by far the most stirring - involved New York Rangers coach/manager Lester Patrick in the 1928 Stanley Cup Finals.

It was Game 2, with the Montreal Maroons leading the series one-up. The entire final round had to be played in Montreal because the Barnum & Bailey Circus was firmly camped in the Rangers' home at Madison Square Garden. After a scoreless first period in Game 2, Montreal center Nels Stewart fired a blast that impacted Rangers goalie Lorne Chabot right above the eye. Chabot could not continue.

Without a spare goalie, Patrick requested that Alex Connell - the Ottawa Senators' netminder who happened to be sitting in the stands - be loaned to New York for the duration of the game, but the Maroons denied Patrick's request. Furthermore, NHL President Frank Calder informed Patrick that he had 10 minutes to find a suitable replacement before the game would be considered a forfeit. With time running out, Patrick astonished the onlookers by choosing himself to play goal, a position he had never played in his life. "We thought at first that it was just a mild injury to Chabot's eye," said Patrick. "Some of the boys said, `Lester, you go in there.' But I said, no, I didn't want to. However, they persisted, so I donned Chabot's uniform, skates, and what-have-you and everything fit like a glove-except the skates. I took care of that by putting on an extra pair of socks."

The presence of the 44-year-old replacing the capable Chabot caused an eruption of laughter from the Forum crowd, but they were soon silenced as the Rangers built a human wall in front of Patrick. When necessary, Patrick performed superbly, stopping 15 of the Maroons' 16 shots and preserving a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. "Lester was an inspiration to the rest of us," said Frank Boucher, "although his antics were somewhat overdrawn. `Let them shoot!' he'd cry. Just as loudly from behind our bench came the voice of (temporary Rangers coach) Odie Cleghorn. `For God's sake, don't let them shoot!"'

With seven-plus minutes to go in O.T., the puck skittered behind the Maroons' goal and was snared by Rangers defenseman Ching Johnson. Boucher was stationed in front of the net and yelled for the pass. "Ching pushed the puck to me," Boucher recalled, "and I sent it into the net." The time was 7:05 and the Rangers had scored an improbable victory.

For Game 3, Patrick used goalie Joe Miller, whom he borrowed from the New York Americans. Montreal won the third game 2-1, but the Rangers were undaunted. Miller posted a 1-0 shutout in Game 4 and New York took a 2-1 victory in Game 5, thus clinching the series. Had it not been for Patrick, Montreal would have taken the second game-and probably the Cup as well.

Rangers Put An End To 54-Year Drought

For decades, the Rangers proved that extravagant spending couldn't purchase the Stanley Cup. But finally, generations after the Blueshirts annexed Lord Stanley's mug in 1940, the best team money could buy ended the championship drought. To do so, Paramount Communications, which owned the team and Madison Square Garden, pumped an inordinate amount of cash into the purchase of players, such as forward Steve Larmer and goalie Glenn Healy. They also hired coach Mike Keenan, paying him almost $1 million a year.

These players were added to a nucleus that included Philadelphian Mike Richter in goal and Connecticut-reared Brian Leetch on defense. They melded neatly with three gifted Russians - Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Zubov, and Sergei Nemchinov. Keenan adhered to his previous coaching trends by selecting one goalie as his top banana and sticking with him. "I decided in training camp that Mike Richter would be my primary goaltender," added Keenan, "and that Glenn Healy would be there for motivation and to fill in from time to time. Obviously, it worked out for the best."

By midseason, the Rangers had taken a firm hold on first place overall. Captain Mark Messier was in mint condition and Adam Graves, one of many ex-Oilers on the team, was on his way to a 52-goal season. To the league's surprise, Zubov developed into the club's highest-scoring defenseman, even better than the gifted Leetch. "We had the best power play and the best penalty-killing," said Richter, "which is a pretty good parlay."

When the Rangers slipped in late winter, management gambled at the trade deadline, unloading popular Mike Gartner to Toronto for Glenn Anderson, obtaining checking forwards Stephane Matteau and Brian Noonan from Chicago, and nabbing yet another Oiler veteran, Craig MacTavish.

The Rangers finished a league-best 52-24-8, then opened the playoffs with an easy sweep of the Islanders. They followed that by eliminating Washington in five games, whereupon they met the Devils in one of the best playoff series of all time.

Trailing three games to two and 2-0 in Game 6, the Rangers rallied behind Messier to tie the series. Game 7, played at Madison Square Garden, went into double overtime after the Devils tied the score with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation. Finally, a fluke shot by Matteau, from behind the net, somehow bounced off New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur and into the cage.

That sent the Rangers into the Finals against Vancouver. After losing the opener at home, the Blueshirts reeled off three straight wins. Delirious New Yorkers, some of whom paid $1,500 or more for a ticket, packed the Garden for Game 5, but the Canucks won that game, 6-3, and the next, 4-1.

More nervous than optimistic, the Garden faithful sweated through a nip-and-tuck Game 7. The Rangers took a 3-1 lead, yielded a goal in the third period, and hung on for a 3-2 triumph. The Blueshirts hoisted the Stanley Cup and paraded it around the ice, showing their fans a trophy they hadn't seen in 54 years.

Stan Fischler et al. Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Publications International, Ltd., Lincolnwood, Illinois. 2003.

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