1971–72 New York Rangers season

The 1971–72 New York Rangers season was the 46th season in franchise history. Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield, and Rod Gilbert ranked third, fourth and fifth overall in league scoring.[1] The Rangers qualified for the postseason for the sixth consecutive season. The club made its first appearance in the Stanley Cup final since 1950 but lost in six games to the Boston Bruins.

1971–72 New York Rangers
Division	2nd East
1971–72 record	48–17–13
Goals for	317
Goals against	192
Team information
General Manager	Emile Francis
Coach	Emile Francis
Captain	Vic Hadfield
Alternate captains	Jim Neilson
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Vic Hadfield (50)
Assists	Jean Ratelle (63)
Points	Jean Ratelle (109)
Penalty minutes	Vic Hadfield (142)
Wins	Gilles Villemure, Ed Giacomin (24)
Goals against average	Gilles Villemure (2.09)

Regular season

Final standings

East Division[2]

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Boston Bruins	78	54	13	11	330	204	+126	119
2	New York Rangers	78	48	17	13	317	192	+125	109
3	Montreal Canadiens	78	46	16	16	307	205	+102	108
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	78	33	31	14	209	208	+1	80
5	Detroit Red Wings	78	33	35	10	261	262	−1	76
6	Buffalo Sabres	78	16	43	19	203	289	−86	51
7	Vancouver Canucks	78	20	50	8	203	297	−94	48

Schedule and results

1971–72 Game Log
October: 6–1–4 (Home: 3–1–2; Road: 3–0–2) Game October Opponent Score Record 1 9 @ Montreal Canadiens 4–4 0–0–1 2 10 @ Boston Bruins 4–1 1–0–1 3 13 Boston Bruins 6–1 1–1–1 4 16 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 2–1–1 5 17 Montreal Canadiens 8–4 3–1–1 6 20 Chicago Black Hawks 3–1 4–1–1 7 23 @ St. Louis Blues 4–3 5–1–1 8 24 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 5–1–2 9 27 Detroit Red Wings 7–4 6–1–2 10 30 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 6–1–3 11 31 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 6–1–4
November: 9–2–0 (Home: 5–0–0; Road: 4–2–0) Game November Opponent Score Record 12 3 @ Los Angeles Kings 7–1 7–1–4 13 5 @ California Golden Seals 8–1 8–1–4 14 6 @ Vancouver Canucks 3–1 9–1–4 15 10 Los Angeles Kings 7–1 10–1–4 16 13 Buffalo Sabres 5–2 11–1–4 17 14 Vancouver Canucks 6–1 12–1–4 18 20 @ Minnesota North Stars 4–1 12–2–4 19 21 California Golden Seals 12–1 13–2–4 20 24 St. Louis Blues 8–3 14–2–4 21 27 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–1 14–3–4 22 28 @ Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 15–3–4
December: 10–2–2 (Home: 7–0–1; Road: 3–2–1) Game December Opponent Score Record 23 1 Buffalo Sabres 7–2 16–3–4 24 4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 16–4–4 25 5 Vancouver Canucks 6–3 17–4–4 26 8 @ Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 17–4–5 27 9 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5–0 18–4–5 28 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 6–1 19–4–5 29 15 Philadelphia Flyers 6–2 20–4–5 30 16 @ Boston Bruins 8–1 20–5–5 31 18 @ St. Louis Blues 5–2 21–5–5 32 19 Minnesota North Stars 1–1 21–5–6 33 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 22–5–6 34 25 @ Minnesota North Stars 2–1 23–5–6 35 26 Montreal Canadiens 5–1 24–5–6 36 29 Philadelphia Flyers 5–1 25–5–6
January: 6–4–2 (Home: 3–1–1; Road: 3–3–1) Game January Opponent Score Record 37 2 Boston Bruins 4–1 25–6–6 38 5 St. Louis Blues 9–1 26–6–6 39 9 Los Angeles Kings 8–0 27–6–6 40 12 @ Chicago Black Hawks 5–5 27–6–7 41 13 @ Buffalo Sabres 5–2 28–6–7 42 15 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 28–7–7 43 19 @ Los Angeles Kings 5–1 29–7–7 44 21 @ California Golden Seals 5–0 30–7–7 45 22 @ Vancouver Canucks 5–2 30–8–7 46 26 Buffalo Sabres 5–1 31–8–7 47 29 @ Minnesota North Stars 4–2 31–9–7 48 30 Minnesota North Stars 1–1 31–9–8
February: 10–2–2 (Home: 5–1–1; Road: 5–1–1) Game February Opponent Score Record 49 2 Boston Bruins 2–0 31–10–8 50 3 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–2 32–10–8 51 5 @ St. Louis Blues 6–5 32–11–8 52 6 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–2 32–11–9 53 9 Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 33–11–9 54 12 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 8–3 34–11–9 55 13 Los Angeles Kings 4–2 35–11–9 56 15 @ Vancouver Canucks 5–1 36–11–9 57 17 @ Los Angeles Kings 6–4 37–11–9 58 18 @ California Golden Seals 2–2 37–11–10 59 20 Detroit Red Wings 4–3 38–11–10 60 22 @ Montreal Canadiens 7–3 39–11–10 61 23 Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 40–11–10 62 27 St. Louis Blues 2–0 41–11–10
March: 7–4–3 (Home: 3–2–2; Road: 4–2–1) Game March Opponent Score Record 63 1 California Golden Seals 4–1 42–11–10 64 2 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–3 43–11–10 65 5 Vancouver Canucks 6–1 44–11–10 66 8 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 44–11–11 67 11 @ Detroit Red Wings 4–2 45–11–11 68 12 California Golden Seals 7–3 45–12–11 69 15 @ Chicago Black Hawks 3–1 45–13–11 70 16 @ Detroit Red Wings 2–1 46–13–11 71 18 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5–3 47–13–11 72 19 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 48–13–11 73 23 @ Boston Bruins 4–1 48–14–11 74 25 @ Montreal Canadiens 3–3 48–14–12 75 26 Minnesota North Stars 5–0 48–15–12 76 29 Detroit Red Wings 2–2 48–15–13
April: 0–2–0 (Home: 0–1–0; Road: 0–1–0) Game April Opponent Score Record 77 1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1 48–16–13 78 2 Montreal Canadiens 6–5 48–17–13

Playoffs

Main articles: 1972 Stanley Cup playoffs and 1972 Stanley Cup Finals

Key:      Win      Loss

1972 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Quarter-finals: vs. Montreal Canadiens – New York Rangers win series 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 5 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 New York Rangers New York Rangers lead series 1–0 2 April 6 Montreal Canadiens 2–5 New York Rangers New York Rangers lead series 2–0 3 April 8 New York Rangers 1–2 Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers lead series 2–1 4 April 9 New York Rangers 6–4 Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers lead series 3–1 5 April 11 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 New York Rangers New York Rangers lead series 3–2 6 April 13 New York Rangers 3–2 Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers win series 4–2 Semi-finals: vs. Chicago Black Hawks – New York Rangers win series 4–0 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 16 New York Rangers 3–2 Chicago Black Hawks New York Rangers lead series 1–0 2 April 18 New York Rangers 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks New York Rangers lead series 2–0 3 April 20 Chicago Black Hawks 2–3 New York Rangers New York Rangers lead series 3–0 4 April 23 Chicago Black Hawks 2–6 New York Rangers New York Rangers win series 4–0 Stanley Cup Finals: vs. Boston Bruins – Boston wins series 4–2 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Series 1 April 30 New York Rangers 5–6 Boston Bruins Boston leads series 1–0 2 May 2 New York Rangers 1–2 Boston Bruins Boston leads series 2–0 3 May 4 Boston Bruins 2–5 New York Rangers Boston leads series 2–1 4 May 7 Boston Bruins 3–2 New York Rangers Boston leads series 3–1 5 May 9 New York Rangers 3–2 Boston Bruins Boston leads series 3–2 6 May 11 Boston Bruins 3–0 New York Rangers Boston wins series 4–2

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season Player GP G A Pts PIM Jean Ratelle 63 46 63 109 4 Vic Hadfield 78 50 56 106 142 Rod Gilbert 73 43 54 97 64 Brad Park 75 24 49 73 130 Walt Tkaczuk 76 24 42 66 65 Bill Fairbairn 78 22 37 59 53 Bobby Rousseau 78 21 36 57 12 Rod Seiling 78 5 36 41 62 Bruce MacGregor 75 19 21 40 22 Jim Neilson 78 7 30 37 56 Ted Irvine 78 15 21 36 66 Pete Stemkowski 59 11 17 28 53 Gene Carr^† 60 8 8 16 25 Dale Rolfe 68 2 14 16 67 Glen Sather 76 5 9 14 77 Ab DeMarco 48 4 7 11 4 Gary Doak^† 50 1 10 11 54 Dave Balon^‡ 16 4 5 9 2 Pierre Jarry^‡ 34 3 3 6 20 Phil Goyette^† 8 1 4 5 0 Jack Egers^‡ 17 2 1 3 14 Ron Stewart^† 13 0 2 2 2 Norm Gratton 3 0 1 1 0 Mike McMahon 1 0 0 0 0 Jim Dorey^† 1 0 0 0 0 Tom Williams 3 0 0 0 2 Jim Lorentz^†‡ 7 0 0 0 0

Playoffs Player GP G A Pts PIM Bobby Rousseau 16 6 11 17 7 Vic Hadfield 16 7 9 16 22 Rod Gilbert 16 7 8 15 11 Pete Stemkowski 16 4 8 12 18 Bill Fairbairn 16 5 7 12 11 Brad Park 16 4 7 11 21 Walt Tkaczuk 16 4 6 10 35 Ted Irvine 16 4 5 9 19 Bruce MacGregor 16 2 6 8 4 Dale Rolfe 16 4 3 7 16 Rod Seiling 16 1 4 5 10 Phil Goyette 13 1 3 4 2 Gene Carr 16 1 3 4 21 Ron Stewart 8 2 1 3 0 Jim Neilson 10 0 3 3 8 Ab DeMarco 4 0 1 1 0 Glen Sather 16 0 1 1 22 Jean Ratelle 6 0 1 1 0 Jim Dorey 1 0 0 0 0 Steve Andrascik 1 0 0 0 0 Gary Doak 12 0 0 0 46

Goaltenders

Regular Season

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Ed Giacomin	44	2551	24	10	9	115	2.70	1
Gilles Villemure	37	2129	24	7	4	74	2.09	3

Playoffs

Player	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Ed Giacomin	10	600	6	4	27	2.70	0
Gilles Villemure	6	360	4	2	14	2.33	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;

Roster

1971–1972 New York Rangers Roster
Goaltenders 1 – Ed Giacomin  30 – Gilles Villemure		Defensemen 2 – Brad Park  3 – Gary Doak  4 – Mike McMahon  5 – Dale Rolfe  8 – Jim Dorey  15 – Jim Neilson  16 – Rod Seiling  24 – Ab DeMarco		Wingers 6 – Glen Sather  7 – Rod Gilbert  8 – Pierre Jarry  10 – Bill Fairbairn  11 – Vic Hadfield –C 12 – Ron Stewart  14 – Bruce MacGregor  17 – Dave Balon  17 – Tom Williams  20 – Gene Carr  20 – Jack Egers  23 – Norm Gratton  27 – Ted Irvine		Centers 9 – Phil Goyette  18 – Walt Tkaczuk  19 – Jean Ratelle  21 – Pete Stemkowski  22 – Bobby Rousseau  25 – Jim Lorentz  GM/Coach: Emile Francis

Awards and records

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	10	Steve Vickers	LW	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
1	13	Steve Durbano	D	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
2	27	Tom Williams	LW	Canada	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)
3	41	Terry West	C	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
4	55	Jerry Butler	RW	Canada	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)
5	69	Fraser Robertson	D	CAN	Lethbridge Sugar Kings (AJHL)
6	83	Wayne Wood	G	Canada	Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
7	96	Doug Keeler	C	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
7	97	Jean-Denis Royal	D	Canada	Saint-Jerome Alouettes (QMJHL)
8	109	Gene Sobchuk	LW	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
9	110	Jim Ivison	D	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
10	111	Andre Peloffy	C	France	Rosemont National (QMJHL)
11	112	Elston Evoy	C	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (NOHA)
12	114	Gerry Lecomte	D	Canada	Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
13	115	Wayne Forsey	LW	Canada	Swift Current Broncos (WCHL)
14	116	Bill Forrest	D	Canada	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)

References

• Rangers on Hockey Database

1. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.162, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
2. "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
3. "1971–72 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2010-08-08.