January 27 in NYR history: A barrage of shots against the Rangers

What happened on January 27 in the history of the New York Rangers

On this date in 1955 Gordie Howe set an unofficial record by taking 19 shots on goal for the Detroit Red Wings in a game against the New York Rangers.   Believe it or not, Howe had more shots than the entire Rangers team s they finished with 18 shots.  Blueshirts goalie Gump Worsley stopped Howe on all 19 shots. Not only was Howe stymied by Worsley, he failed to register a point in the the 3-3 in the game at Olympia Stadium in Detroit.  You want irony?  Though Gordie has those 19 shots, it was his brother, Vic Howe, who got a goal, scoring for the Rangers in the third period.

It’s an unofficial record as the NHL didn’t start recording shots on goal as an official statistic until the 1959-60 season.  That’s why Rod Gilbert of the Rangers was credited with setting the NHL record in 1968 when he had 16 shots against the Montreal Canadiens.  The current record holder is Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins who registered 19 shots on goal in a game in 1991.   That means that Howe still holds the record, but is tied with Bourque.

Officially, Howe’s career high was 12 shots on goal in one game, something he did three times.

The first Swede

On this date in 1965 Ulf Sterner made NHL history as the first Swedish player in the NHL, making his debut in a 5-2 win over the Bruins at Madison Square Garden. Some will argue that he was preceded by Gus Forslund who played for the Ottawa Senators in 1932-33, but Forslund was born in Sweden and moved to Canada when he was four.   Sterner is definitely the first European born and trained hockey player to skate in the NHL.

Here’s what the New York Times had to say about his debut.   “Ranger fans were pleasantly surprised by Ulf Sterner’s performance. The former star of the Swedish National Team became the first European to compete in the NHL.  Judging by his slick stickhandling and passing, Sterner is here to stay. ”

Sterner scored a goal late in the second period, but it was disallowed when it was ruled that linemate Bob Nevin was offside.  Sterner was not in the NHL to stay as he played only three more games for the Rangers, in which he did not register a point.  He spent the rest of the season in the AHL and returned to Sweden the following season.

Borje Salming of the Toronto Maple Leafs is commonly recognized as the first Swedish player to have an impact in the NHL.  The Rangers’ next Swedish player was goalie Hardy Astrom in 1977-78, but the biggest impact came when they signed Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson in 1978-79.

You could argue that the Rangers’ Juha Widing was the first Swedish player to score a goal in the NHL and was the second Swede to play in the NHL after Sterner.  The issue is that Widing was born in Finland and moved to Sweden when he was four years old so he holds dual citizenship.  He joined the Rangers in 1969 and scored his first goal on November 7, 1969.

Today’s birthdays

20 NHL players were born on January 27 and not a single New York Ranger!  The closest one we could find is Paul Messier, Mark’s cousin who played for the Colorado Rockies.

The numbers

37 games on January 27 and the Rangers have gotten exactly half of the points they could have earned. That’s the very definition of .500 hockey.

Games: 37
Regulation wins:  15
Regulation losses: 16
Ties: 5
Overtime wins: 1
Points percentage: .500