New York Rangers memories: ‘Santa’s favorites’ own NHL Christmas Day record
Jean Ratelle owns a unique place in New York Rangers history.
The Hall of Fame center not only was their first player to break the 100-point mark (109 points in 1971-72). But his 22nd goal of that season came on Dec. 25, 1971, and is the last ever scored by a member of the Rangers on Christmas Day.
Ratelle’s goal at 19:11 of the second period gave the Rangers a 2-1 victory against the Minnesota North Stars, their 24th win all-time on Dec. 25. Ed Giacomin got the win by making 22 saves. Defenseman Rod Seiling had the Rangers last Christmas fight when he squared off against Minnesota center Jude Drouin at 17:11 of the first period.
Before the NHL stopped playing games on Christmas, the Rangers had more fun on the holiday than Jolly Old St. Nick. In their first 45 NHL seasons after entering the NHL in 1926, the Rangers played 37 times on Christmas (plus six more on Christmas Eve, when they were 4-0 with two ties).
Their 24-11-2 record on Dec. 25 is by far the best of any NHL team, and they went more than 20 years without a loss on Christmas, going 15-0-1 from 1928-49; the Detroit Red Wings ended the streak with a 4-1 win on Dec. 25, 1950.
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Christmas was usually a happy day for Rangers
Even when the Rangers were at their worst, Christmas was often a feel-good day.
One example was Dec. 25, 1942, when World War II had decimated the Rangers roster. New York came to Detroit with a 4-12-2 record on the way to a last-place finish. The Red Wings were third in the six-team league at 8-5-5 and had not lost at home all season.
But the Rangers played Grinch for the fans who filled the Olympia that night by winning 3-1. Rookie Red Garrett, at 18 years and 154 days old, set an NHL record as the youngest defenseman to score his first goal. Since then, five defensemen have been younger when they scored their first NHL goal, but Garrett’s mark is still a Rangers record.
Even more amazing was what took place in Toronto a year later. The Rangers were 3-15-1 and on the way to an historically awful 6-39-5 record (.170 points percentage) when they arrived at Maple Leaf Gardens. Much to the shock of Toronto fans, the Rangers scored five straight goals and held on for a 5-3 victory. Ossie Aubuchon scored three of his 20 NHL goals for his only hat trick, and goalie Ken McAuley, who played all 50 games for one of the worst teams in history, kept the Maple Leafs off the scoreboard until there were less than 14 minutes remaining.
“This was Santa at work,” said a grinning coach Frank Boucher afterward, according to hockey historian Stan Fischler. “Everyone in the League believed the Rangers were Santa’s favorites — for one night at least.”
How unlikely was that Christmas victory? The Rangers won just twice more all season.
The best Christmas Eve-Christmas Day combo for the Rangers came in 1966, when New York re-emerged from the doldrums of the early 1960s under Emile Francis. Despite playing a back-to-back holiday set on the road, the Rangers found themselves in first place when they went to bed on the night of Dec. 25 after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 at the Forum before ruining Christmas for the fans at Chicago Stadium with a 1-0 victory.
“I liked the Christmas Eve game more,” said Rangers Hall of Fame forward Rod Gilbert, a Montreal native. “My parents were probably at the game, and I had a chance to spend a little time with my family.”
Gilbert, who was single during the years when the Rangers played on Christmas, said that made a difference.
“The fact that I was not with family, directly — I had brothers, nephews, but I wasn’t married — I didn’t have that feeling that it was preventing me from enjoying [the holiday],” he said. “If it made sense to the League and sense to the fans that were at the game for me to entertain them, that was fine. It wasn’t depriving me of anything. … I didn’t have a family, so it didn’t affect me as much as the other guys.”
However, it was another Montreal native, Bernie “Boom-Boom” Geoffrion, who was the holiday hero for the Rangers. The longtime Canadiens star came out of retirement in 1966 and helped spark the Rangers to their first playoff berth in five years. He scored twice in the win at the Forum, then had the only goal of the game late in the second period to back Giacomin’s 27-save shutout.
The Rangers were 2-0-1 in their last three Christmas games, ending with the victory at Minnesota. Their 24 wins on Christmas Day represent an NHL record that will never be broken.
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