On January 17 in NYR history: The last tie…ever

What happened on January 17 in the history of the New York Rangers

The 2003-04 season was the last season that the NHL had games end in a tie. On this date in 2004, the New York Rangers played the last tie game in their history.   The game was in Montreal and the final score was 2-2.  It was the 5,320th game in the team history and the 808th game to end in a tie. Alex Kovalev scored with just over five minutes left in the third period to tie the game.

From its inception until the 1942 -43 season, NHL teams played a 10 minute overtime period (not sudden death), but an overtime loss did not count for any points.  Eliminated due to wartime restrictions, the league then just played a 60 minute regulation game until the 1983-84 season when the NHL introduced the five minute sudden death overtime.  Games could end in a tie in this format and teams would get one point.  If a team that lost in overtime they got nothing.  It wasn’t until 1999-00 that teams got a point for losing in overtime.

Ties went away completely when the league introduced the shootout in the 2005-06 season.   The last tie registered in the NHL was on April 4, 2004 when the Carolina Hurricanes came back to tie the Florida Panthers in their last game of the season.    q

Ties were never a satisfactory way to end a game.  Politically incorrect in these times, the common phrase to describe a tie was “like kissing your sister.”   It’s hard to imagine, but the Rangers actually played 21 ties in the 1950-51 season. That’s 30% of the games in  what was then a70 game campaign.

Coincidentally, that 1950-51 team broke the franchise record of 13 ties in a season on this exact date when they tied the Bruins 2-2 at Madison Square Garden.   The old mark had been set by the 1948 Rangers.

Today’s birthdays

Five of the 21 NHL players born on this date were members of the New York Rangers, including one Hall of Famer.

On this date in 1929, Jacques Plante was born in Shawanigan Falls, Quebec.  Plante is considered one of the greatest goaltenders in NHL history and he was the first to use a mask in an NHL game.  He played only two seasons in New York, traded from Montreal in a swap of legendary goalies.  Gump Worsley went to Montreal in exchange for Plante after the 1962-63 season.

It was not a good deal for New York as Plante retired after being sent down to the AHL while Worsley won two Vezina Trophies with the Canadiens.   In 1967 he attempted a comeback with Oakland, but the Rangers disputed his contract.  He did come back in 1968 in 1968 with the St. Louis Blues, winning the Vezina Trophy for the seventh time.  Plante won six Stanley Cups with Montreal and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978.

Leo Bourgeault was a defenseman bornon this date in 1903 in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario.  He was a member of the first New York Rangers team after being bought from the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played five years in New York and was on the 1928 Stanley Cup championship team.

Fred Hunt was born on this date in 1918 in Brantford, Ontario.  He was one of the players who made the NHL during the war years, playing 44 games in 1944-45. The right winger scored 13 goals in his one season in New York, one of two years he was in the NHL.

Aaron Ward was born on this date in 1973 in Windsor, Ontario.   The defenseman was a high profile free agent signed to a two year deal worth $5.5 million in 2006, right after he had won a cup with the Carolina Hurricanes.  His time in New York was short as he feuded with Jaromir Jagr and he found himself traded to the Boston Bruins for Paul Mara after only 60 games.

Viktor Stalberg was a Swedish winger signed as a free agent by the Rangers in the summer of 2015.  He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden on this date in 1986.  He had previously played two season in Nashville after winning a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawsk in 2013.  He played only one season in New York, scoring nine goals. He departed via free agency and is now playing in the KHL.

The numbers

The Rangers have not enjoyed playing on January 17 with only 11 wins in 34 games.

Games: 34
Regulation wins: 11
Regulation losses: 17
Ties: 6
Points percentage: .411