This Day in Hockey History – February 25, 1940 and 1978 – Rangers Wreck Canadiens

On February 25, 38 years apart, the New York Rangers scored six goals in big victories over the Montreal Canadiens. The 1940 win was the first televised in the U.S., and the 1978 win snapped a long unbeaten streak.

The weekend of February 24 and 25, 1940 went well for the Rangers and rough for the Canadiens. On Saturday, they played at Montreal Forum before 6,000 fans. According to the Montreal Gazette, the “Blueshirts had no noticeable edge over the Habitants – except in one department: getting the puck in the net. They did it twice, while Canadiens, with their earnest but aimless and systemless play, could not do it at all, and that was the story of the game, which was evenly-waged, frequently fast and exceptionally clean.” The two Rangers goals were scored by Bryan Hextall (with an assist from Phil Watson) and Alex Shibicky.

On Sunday, the game at Madison Square Garden was the first shown on U.S. televisions. In addition to the 8,273 fans who came to the game, viewers watching the 300 televisions with W2XBS also saw the game. The locals were in for a treat, the Rangers’ 14th consecutive win on home ice. Like the night before, right winger Bryan Hextall scored first and then scored second for good measure. Both of his goals were assisted by Phil “Fearless” Watson. The Rangers had three goals in the first 14 minutes and ended the first period leading 3-1. After two more goals in the second and one at the beginning of the third, the Rangers led 6-1 with nearly an entire period remaining. Watson had assists on the last two of those goals as he had with the first two. The Canadiens managed another goal in the last minute of the game to make the loss 6-2.

The Canadiens struggled that season. By the time of the back-to-back defeats against the Rangers, they were on their third goalie, Mike Karakas (who had retired from the Chicago Blackhawks). They had not won on home ice in two months (since December 14), and they had lost 23 of 27 games (earning only six points of a possible 54). These games contributed to a five-game losing streak. Over the course of the entire season, the Rangers won six games against the Canadiens, lost one, and tied once. The Rangers then went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Exactly 38 years later, Montreal was experiencing a complete reversal in fortunes. By the time they met the Rangers on February 25, 1978, they had a record-setting unbeaten streak of 28 games (23-0-5). In fact, they had only lost seven games all season. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Rangers were in last place. Still, their game drew a crowd of 17,870 (including six busses of Rangers fans) to Montreal Forum.

This time, the Rangers had the new goalie, having called up Swede Hardy Astrom from their AHL team in New Haven (due to injuries to their top two goaltenders). Having received the call that very morning, Astrom said, “Even when the game got closer, I didn’t get any more nervous.” He also commented, “I knew what was going on. I knew that Montreal had not lost in 28 games, that they were a fast-skating team and that they swarmed all over you.” Quite logically, Astrom pointed out, “If I lost to Montreal, everybody would say, that it was understandable because it was Montreal. Nobody would blame me. But if I won, everybody would say I did a great job and would give me credit. I’m glad we won though. I hate to lose.” Astrom’s 29 saves helped the Rangers stop the Canadiens in their tracks.

The Rangers scored twice every period, and their six goals were made by six different players. Captain Phil Esposito scored second and summarized their feelings on the way the game went. “We got lucky, but isn’t it about time? I hit my goal out of the air and Ron Duguay got his on a deflection, but now they know how we feel. This kind of thing has been happening to us all season. Now it’s happening for us. We’ve been playing well but we haven’t been getting any breaks.” His teammate, defenseman Don Awrey added, “They had to have a bad game sooner or later. I don’t think they were as sharp as they have been on this streak. We wanted to play well for ourselves but we also knew we had to play for Hardy.”

From the Canadiens’ perspective, goalie Ken Dryden acknowledged, “Those kinds of things happen when you’re just not quite sharp to begin with. Instead of being able to clear the puck, you clean it half way. It’s too easy to pass it off to bad bounces.” His teammate, Larry Robinson, said, “It wasn’t so much that we lost as the way we lost. We played so badly. We knew this is a hockey team that is capable of putting the puck in the net and we gave them all kinds of two-on-ones and three-on-twos.” That led to a Rangers’ win of 6-3.

The Canadiens’ streak was snapped. It had been the longest to date. Prior to that, the longest was a 23-game streak by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976, a 23-game streak by the Boston Bruins in 1940-41, and twice Montreal had 21-game unbeaten streaks (in 1974-75 and in 1977). On the other hand, this was the first regular-season victory the Rangers had at the Forum since February 22, 1972. Despite the disruption, the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup that season having defeated the Rangers in their other three matchups. Not only that, but the following season, after the Rangers won the first game of the finals, the Canadiens claimed victory on the next four games to win the Stanley Cup finals.

All-in-all, the Rangers have only been able to get in the Canadiens way occasionally. In the 628 games the two teams have played against each other, the Rangers have earned 491 points while the Canadiens have raked in 773 points.

Additional Sources:

• Gene Ward, “Rangers Rip Canadiens, 6-2, in Clash at Garden,” New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 1940, p. 35.
• “Canadiens Facing Elimination,” Montreal Gazette, 26 Feb. 1940, p. 16 and 19.
• Al Strachan, “Canadiens back to earth – with a jolt,” Montreal Gazette, 27 Feb. 1978, p. 11.
• “Rangers Upset Canadiens,” New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 1978, p. 104.