1972–73 New York Rangers season

The 1972–73 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 47th season.

1972–73 New York Rangers
Division	3rd East
1972–73 record	47–23–8
Goals for	297
Goals against	208
Team information
General manager	Emile Francis
Coach	Emile Francis
Captain	Vic Hadfield
Alternate captains	Rod Gilbert Brad Park
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Jean Ratelle (41)
Assists	Rod Gilbert (59)
Points	Jean Ratelle (94)
Penalty minutes	Dale Rolfe (74)
Wins	Ed Giacomin (26)
Goals against average	Peter McDuffe (1.00)
← 1971–72 1973–74 →

Regular season

Final standings

East Division^[1]

• v
• t
• e

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	78	52	10	16	329	184	+145	120
2	Boston Bruins	78	51	22	5	330	235	+95	107
3	New York Rangers	78	47	23	8	297	208	+89	102
4	Buffalo Sabres	78	37	27	14	257	219	+38	88
5	Detroit Red Wings	78	37	29	12	265	243	+22	86
6	Toronto Maple Leafs	78	27	41	10	247	279	−32	64
7	Vancouver Canucks	78	22	47	9	233	339	−106	53
8	New York Islanders	78	12	60	6	170	347	−177	30

Record vs. opponents

Vs. East Division 1972–73 NHL records^[2] Team BOS BUF DET MTL NYI NYR TOR VAN Total Boston — 4–1–1 3–2 1–3–1 5–1 3–3 4–1 4–1 24–12–2 Buffalo 1–4–1 — 1–4 1–2–2 5–0–1 5–1 4–1 3–2 20–14–4 Detroit 2–3 4–1 — 2–3–1 4–1 1–3–1 4–2 3–0–3 20–13–5 Montreal 3–1–1 2–1–2 3–2–1 — 5–0 3–0–2 5–0–1 6–0 27–4–7 N.Y. Islanders 1–5 0–5–1 1–4 0–5 — 0–6 1–4 1–3–1 4–32–2 N.Y. Rangers 3–3 1–5 3–1–1 0–3–2 6–0 — 4–1 3–2 20–15–3 Toronto 1–4 1–4 2–4 0–5–1 4–1 1–4 — 2–3–1 11–25–2 Vancouver 1–4 2–3 0–3–3 0–6 3–1–1 2–3 3–2–1 — 11–22–5

Vs. West Division 1972–73 NHL records Team ATL CAL CHI LAK MIN PHI PIT STL Total Boston 5–0 4–0–1 2–3 3–2 3–1–1 4–0–1 4–1 2–3 27–10–3 Buffalo 2–1–2 1–2–2 2–3 2–1–2 3–2 2–3 3–0–2 2–1–2 17–13–10 Detroit 3–2 2–2–1 2–3 2–2–1 1–3–1 3–1–1 2–0–3 2–3 17–16–7 Montreal 3–0–2 3–0–2 2–3 4–0–1 3–1–1 2–2–1 5–0 3–0–2 25–6–9 N.Y. Islanders 0–4–1 4–1 0–4–1 1–4 1–4 1–4 0–4–1 1–3–1 8–28–4 N.Y. Rangers 4–1 3–1–1 2–2–1 3–0–2 3–2 4–0–1 3–2 5–0 27–8–5 Toronto 1–2–2 3–1–1 1–2–2 3–2 2–2–1 1–3–1 2–2–1 3–2 16–16–8 Vancouver 1–4 4–1 1–3–1 2–3 0–3–2 0–4–1 2–3 1–4 11–25–4

Schedule and results

1972–73 Game Log
October: 6–3–1 (Home: 5–0–1; Road: 1–3–0) Game October Opponent Score Record 1 7 @ Detroit Red Wings 5–3 0–1–0 2 8 @ Chicago Black Hawks 5–1 0–2–0 3 11 Vancouver Canucks 5–3 1–2–0 4 14 @ Montreal Canadiens 6–1 1–3–0 5 15 Minnesota North Stars 6–2 2–3–0 6 18 Boston Bruins 7–1 3–3–0 7 21 @ New York Islanders 2–1 4–3–0 8 22 Montreal Canadiens 1–1 4–3–1 9 25 Philadelphia Flyers 6–1 5–3–1 10 29 Chicago Black Hawks 7–1 6–3–1
November: 9–4–1 (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 4–3–1) Game November Opponent Score Record 11 1 @ Chicago Black Hawks 3–2 7–3–1 12 4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 6–4 7–4–1 13 5 @ Philadelphia Flyers 3–2 8–4–1 14 8 Vancouver Canucks 5–2 9–4–1 15 11 California Golden Seals 7–2 10–4–1 16 12 Los Angeles Kings 5–1 11–4–1 17 15 Philadelphia Flyers 7–3 12–4–1 18 18 @ St. Louis Blues 3–1 13–4–1 19 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–3 13–5–1 20 21 @ Atlanta Flames 3–1 14–5–1 21 23 @ Buffalo Sabres 5–3 14–6–1 22 26 Toronto Maple Leafs 7–4 15–6–1 23 28 @ Vancouver Canucks 2–1 15–7–1 24 29 @ Los Angeles Kings 2–2 15–7–2
December: 8–5–1 (Home: 5–3–0; Road: 3–2–1) Game December Opponent Score Record 25 1 @ California Golden Seals 3–3 15–7–3 26 3 Atlanta Flames 3–2 16–7–3 27 6 Buffalo Sabres 3–2 16–8–3 28 9 @ New York Islanders 4–1 17–8–3 29 10 New York Islanders 4–1 18–8–3 30 13 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 19–8–3 31 14 @ Boston Bruins 4–2 19–9–3 32 16 @ Minnesota North Stars 5–1 19–10–3 33 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 9–1 20–10–3 34 20 @ St. Louis Blues 5–4 21–10–3 35 21 Atlanta Flames 5–2 21–11–3 36 24 Detroit Red Wings 5–0 22–11–3 37 27 Buffalo Sabres 4–1 22–12–3 38 31 St. Louis Blues 6–1 23–12–3
January: 11–1–1 (Home: 5–1–0; Road: 6–0–1) Game January Opponent Score Record 39 3 Los Angeles Kings 3–0 24–12–3 40 6 Buffalo Sabres 4–1 24–13–3 41 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–0 25–13–3 42 11 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–2 26–13–3 43 13 @ St. Louis Blues 5–3 27–13–3 44 14 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5–2 28–13–3 45 17 @ Los Angeles Kings 4–4 28–13–4 46 19 @ California Golden Seals 6–0 29–13–4 47 20 @ Vancouver Canucks 4–3 30–13–4 48 24 Boston Bruins 4–2 31–13–4 49 27 @ Detroit Red Wings 6–3 32–13–4 50 28 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–2 33–13–4 51 31 California Golden Seals 3–1 34–13–4
February: 7–3–2 (Home: 4–0–2; Road: 3–3–0) Game February Opponent Score Record 52 3 @ Boston Bruins 7–3 35–13–4 53 4 Atlanta Flames 6–0 36–13–4 54 7 New York Islanders 6–0 37–13–4 55 10 @ New York Islanders 6–0 38–13–4 56 11 Montreal Canadiens 2–2 38–13–5 57 14 @ Montreal Canadiens 6–3 38–14–5 58 15 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–1 38–15–5 59 18 New York Islanders 3–2 39–15–5 60 21 @ Los Angeles Kings 4–3 40–15–5 61 23 @ California Golden Seals 5–3 40–16–5 62 25 Minnesota North Stars 6–5 41–16–5 63 28 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 41–16–6
March: 6–7–1 (Home: 2–3–1; Road: 4–4–0) Game March Opponent Score Record 64 3 @ Detroit Red Wings 6–3 42–16–6 65 4 Vancouver Canucks 4–3 42–17–6 66 7 Philadelphia Flyers 2–2 42–17–7 67 10 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 43–17–7 68 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–2 44–17–7 69 14 @ Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 44–18–7 70 17 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 7–5 44–19–7 71 18 St. Louis Blues 3–1 45–19–7 72 20 @ Minnesota North Stars 6–1 46–19–7 73 22 @ Atlanta Flames 4–1 47–19–7 74 24 @ Boston Bruins 3–0 47–20–7 75 25 Minnesota North Stars 2–1 47–21–7 76 28 Boston Bruins 6–3 47–22–7 77 31 @ Montreal Canadiens 5–1 47–23–7
April: 0–0–1 (Home: 0–0–1; Road: 0-0-0) Game April Opponent Score Record 78 1 Detroit Red Wings 3–3 47–23–8

Playoffs

Main article: 1973 Stanley Cup playoffs

Key:   Win   Loss

1973 Stanley Cup playoffs

Quarter-finals: vs. Boston Bruins – New York Rangers win series 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 4 New York Rangers 6–2 Boston Bruins New York Rangers lead series 1–0 2 April 5 New York Rangers 4–2 Boston Bruins New York Rangers lead series 2–0 3 April 7 Boston Bruins 4–2 New York Rangers New York Rangers lead series 2–1 4 April 8 Boston Bruins 0–4 New York Rangers New York Rangers lead series 3–1 5 April 10 New York Rangers 6–3 Boston Bruins New York Rangers win series 4–1 Semi-finals: vs. Chicago Black Hawks – Chicago wins series 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 12 New York Rangers 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks New York Rangers lead series 1–0 2 April 15 New York Rangers 4–5 Chicago Black Hawks Series tied 1–1 3 April 17 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 New York Rangers Chicago leads series 2–1 4 April 19 Chicago Black Hawks 3–1 New York Rangers Chicago leads series 3–1 5 April 24 New York Rangers 1–4 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago wins series 4–1

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts PIM Jean Ratelle 78 41 53 94 12 Rod Gilbert 76 25 59 84 25 Walt Tkaczuk 76 27 39 66 59 Bill Fairbairn 78 30 33 63 23 Vic Hadfield 63 28 34 62 60 Pete Stemkowski 78 22 37 59 71 Steve Vickers 61 30 23 53 37 Brad Park 52 10 43 53 51 Bobby Rousseau 78 8 37 45 14 Rod Seiling 72 9 33 42 36 Dale Rolfe 72 7 25 32 74 Bruce MacGregor 52 14 12 26 12 Glen Sather 77 11 15 26 64 Ted Irvine 53 8 12 20 54 Jim Neilson 52 4 16 20 35 Gene Carr 50 9 10 19 50 Ab DeMarco^‡ 51 4 13 17 15 Ron Harris^† 46 3 10 13 17 Mike Murphy^† 15 4 4 8 5 Randy Legge 12 0 2 2 2 Bill Heindl 4 1 0 1 0 Jerry Butler 8 1 0 1 4 Larry Sacharuk 8 1 0 1 0 Sheldon Kannegiesser^† 3 0 1 1 4 Tom Williams 10 0 1 1 0 Ron Stewart^‡ 11 0 1 1 0 Curt Bennett^‡ 16 0 1 1 11 Bert Marshall^† 8 0 0 0 14

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts PIM Steve Vickers 10 5 4 9 4 Bill Fairbairn 10 1 8 9 2 Walt Tkaczuk 10 7 2 9 8 Jean Ratelle 10 2 7 9 0 Brad Park 10 2 5 7 8 Pete Stemkowski 10 4 2 6 6 Rod Gilbert 10 5 1 6 2 Dale Rolfe 8 0 5 5 6 Bobby Rousseau 10 2 3 5 4 Jim Neilson 10 0 4 4 2 Ted Irvine 10 1 3 4 20 Bruce MacGregor 10 2 2 4 2 Vic Hadfield 9 2 2 4 11 Ron Harris 10 0 3 3 2 Bert Marshall 6 0 1 1 8 Gene Carr 1 0 1 1 0 Sheldon Kannegiesser 1 0 0 0 2 Mike Murphy 10 0 0 0 0 Glen Sather 9 0 0 0 7

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Ed Giacomin	43	2580	26	11	6	125	2.91	4
Gilles Villemure	34	2040	20	12	2	78	2.29	3
Peter McDuffe	1	60	1	0	0	1	1.00	0

Playoffs

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Ed Giacomin	10	539	5	4	23	2.56	1
Gilles Villemure	2	61	0	1	2	1.97	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
^‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

^[3]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

The Rangers defense lost their gifted-defenseman, Brad Park due to a knee injury that occurred on 11/15/72 against the Flyers, which forced him out of the lineup for the next 18 games. Looking to plug that hole, they searched around the league for another talented-defenseman but prospects were sparse. So, on 11/28/72, they settled on veteran defenseman Ron Harris of the Flames who had minimal offensive skills but played a physical checking game. A 26-year-old forward, by the name of Curt Bennett was still scoreless with the Rangers while mostly sitting on the bench, so he was sent to the Flames in exchange. Both guys ultimately paid dividends for their new teams. Harris was instrumental in winning key games for the Rangers in different ways such as: against the rival-Bruins in game #2 of the 1973 playoffs, he threw a legal, rolling, hip-check at Phil Esposito which injured him, thus, sinking the hopes of the Bruins since they lost that playoff series; plus then, in a key 1974 playoff game against the Canadians, Harris scored the game-winning goal in overtime which eventually sparked the Rangers in winning that playoff series. Likewise, the Flames cashed in on Curt Bennett since he finally and quickly matured with them by becoming an excellent goal-scorer and their toughest fighter.

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Canada.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	10	Al Blanchard	LW	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
1	15	Bob MacMillan	C	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
2	21	Larry Sacharuk	D	Canada	Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
2	31	Rene Villemure	LW	Canada	Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
3	47	Gerry Teeple	C	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
4	63	Doug Horbul	LW	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
5	79	Marty Gateman	D	Canada	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)
6	95	Ken Ireland	C	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
7	111	Jeff Hunt	D	Canada	Winnipeg Jets (WCHL)
8	127	Yvon Blais	D	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
9	137	Pierre Archambault	D	Canada	Saint-Jerome Alouettes (QMJHL)

Farm teams

See also

• 1972–73 NHL season

References

1. "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. "1972–73 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

External links

• "1972–73 New York Rangers Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
• Rangers on Hockey Database