Rangers great Rod Gilbert believes in this streak

Pat Leonard NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Today, 12:27 AM ET

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Rod Gilbert was on ’73 Ranger team that won 10 straight games, joining 1940 Blueshirts as only squads in franchise history to pull off feat.

TAMPA — The great No. 7 knows what it feels like for the Rangers to chase the elusive number 10.
Hall of Famer Rod Gilbert, whose No. 7 jersey was the first retired to the Garden rafters, was on the 1972-73 team that won 10 straight regular-season games, tying the 1939-40 Stanley Cup team for the all-time franchise record winning streak.

Alain Vigneault’s Rangers are shooting for a 10th straight victory Thursday night in Tampa.
“The key to streaks like this is if guys have been together a bit, been through tough times, rough times,” Gilbert, 74, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 1,021 points, said in a phone interview Wednesday morning. “And they’re not just trying to win. At this point, they’re afraid of losing.”

Gilbert, the right wing on the famous Goal-A-Game Line (G-A-G) with left wing Vic Hadfield and center Jean Ratelle, said he sees “a lot of similarities” between the 1970s Rangers and this year’s team. He had high praise especially for the line of Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello.
“Up front, Zuccarello, Brassard and Nash are similar to the G-A-G line,” Gilbert said, referring to a top line that attracts opponents’ attention. “We both have excellent goaltending: We had (Ed) Giacomin, they have (Henrik) Lundqvist. We both had a solid defense. We had Brad Park and Rod Seiling and Dale Rolfe. The power play was working.

“And they’re pretty well-balanced,” he added of this year’s Rangers. “Teams don’t know how to match up. (Kevin) Hayes can break out at any time, and they have (Derek) Stepan. They’re well-coached, too. That’s huge. We were well-coached. This team, though, when things come together, they’re unbeatable.”

Emile Francis was the coach when Gilbert’s Rangers won 10 consecutive games from Jan. 19 through Feb. 10, 1973. That tied the record originally set by Frank Boucher’s Rangers, who rattled off 10 in a row from Dec. 19, 1939, through Jan. 13, 1940, on their way to winning the franchise’s third championship.

Gilbert’s Rangers had advanced to the Cup Final in 1972 and lost in six games to the Boston Bruins, but his 1973 team that won 10 straight eventually bowed out in the semifinals in five games to the Chicago Blackhawks. Nevertheless, Gilbert recalls Francis establishing a consistency with the forward lines that benefitted the group’s chemistry.

“With Emile Francis we were well-prepared,” he said. “We practiced the same way we played the game, and we could practice more things because the lines were set.”

Just like this year’s team, he recalls scoring threats throughout those Rangers’ lineups, too.
“We had Pete Stempkoski, Walt Tkaczuk and Ratelle, so we were solid down the middle,” he said. “Our line could score. (Bruce) MacGregor could score, so could Stempkowski. It was different for other teams to try to match up with us. We were not one dimensional.”

Gilbert remains a visible face around the team. He is the director of special projects and a community relations representative in the fan development and community relations department. He also has gone to all of the Rangers’ home games and continues to cheer on Vigneault’s bunch.

“Some teams you shut one line down and you win, but you can’t do that to the Rangers of this year,” Gilbert said. “It’s all good. Other teams don’t know how to match lines. The Rangers are deep, complete and we have the best goalie in the league.

“Let’s go, Rangers.”