NYR Alumni Birthdays
1/28 Arnie Brown D (1964-1971) Daniel Carcillo LW (2013-2014) Jack Egers LW (1969-72,73-74) Normand Rochefort D (1988-1992)
TODAY IN NYR HISTORY January 28
1933: Cecil Dillon tallies the first four-goal game in Rangers history in a 9-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
1991: The Rangers play in San Jose for the first time, defeating the Sharks, 4-2 behind three-assist performances from Sergei Nemchinov and James Patrick.
RNYRF THROWBACK THURSDAY:
MALONEY AND LAROUCHE LEADS WALES TO VICTORY
NY Times 2/1/1984
By KEVIN DUPONT
Published: February 1, 1984
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Jan. 31— Don Maloney didn't do everything right here tonight, although he did leave the Bryne Meadowlands Arena with a winning goal, a $14,000 car and a look on his face that set an all-star record for modesty.
Maloney, the Ranger left wing, actually stumbled slightly after his goal and three assists led the Wales Conference to a 7-6 victory over the Campbell Conference in the National Hockey League All-Star Game. Lined up with his teammates for the presentation of the most valuable player award, the 25-year-old Maloney slipped and fell to his knees as his name was announced to the sellout crowd of 18,939. ''All of a sudden, for no reason, I slipped,'' said Maloney, selected to the Wales team for the second year in a row by its coach, Al Arbour. ''I couldn't believe it. I felt so stupid. I thought, 'What am I doing here?' ''
Line Scored Nine Points
Maloney and the rest of his line - Ranger teammate Pierre Larouche and Hartford's Mark Johnson - led the Wales Conference victory with a total of nine points. Maloney, with his goal and three assists, tied an all-star record, held by four others, for most points in one game. Larouche, who came to New York as a free agent last fall, scored two goals. And Johnson, a member of the 1980 United States Olympic team, also had three assists, as did Toronto's Rick Vaive, to tie another record.
Regardless of what records were tied or broken, Maloney's postgame performance stole the show. The crowd, long before his name was announced as the most valuable player, was chanting, ''Donnie, Donnie, Donnie.''
He lifted himself up from the ice after his fall, put his hands over his eyes in disbelief and, one-by-one, shook the hands of his teammates. 'Like Winning the Lottery'
''This is a dream come true, like winning the lottery,'' said Maloney, whose goal at 7 minutes 24 seconds of the final period gave the Wales squad a 7-3 lead and eventually became the game-winner. ''You buy a lottery ticket - but you never expect - I don't know what to say.''
Maloney, after shaking his teammates' hands, skated over to his prize, a red Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 that had been rolled out onto the ice. After again burying his face in his hands, Maloney knocked the hood with his hand, kissed the bumper, and raised a clenched fist toward the crowd, the second largest in all-star history.
Again, the crowd responded in a roar, ''Let's Go, Rangers, Let's Go, Rangers.'' It could have been the middle of Madison Square Garden.
''It's great here in New Jersey,'' said Maloney, whose last four goals with the Rangers have all been game- winners. ''There are so many Ranger fans. The clapping, the cheering, it gives you a morale lift. This is the year of the Rangers, I hope.'' Opened 5-0 Lead in First Period
It was certainly the night of goal- scoring. The Wales Conference, on goals from New Jersey's Joe Cirella, the Islanders' Denis Potvin, Boston's Rick Middleton, Montreal's Mats Naslund and Larouche, jumped to a 5-0 first-period lead.
Two of the night's most memorable plays - both defenseive - came after Larouche had capped the 5-goal spree at 17:14 of the opening period. The first came when Wayne Gretzky, was stopped by the Boston goalie Pete Peeters on a breakaway with less than two minutes to play in the period. Then, with only 43 seconds gone in the second period, the Boston goalie again held his ground and stopped another Gretzky breakaway. The Oiler star was playing with a sore shoulder that he had injured on Jan. 21. After the game, Gretzky said that the shoulder had not yet been X-rayed and that he hoped it was not separated.
The Campbell squad had cut the lead to 5-3 by 6:42 of the middle period on scores by Chicago's Denis Savard, Vancouver's Darcy Rota and Detroit's John Ogrodnick. But Larouche, set up by Johnson and Maloney, gave the Wales team a 3-goal edge by the end of the second period.
Maloney's goal, on a pretty feed from Johnson, a fine-passing center, made it 7-3 in the third. Then Winnipeg's Dave Babych, Gretzky and Minnesota's Brian Bellows each scored against the New Jersey goalie Glenn Resch to make the final score 7-6 and break, by a goal, the record for most goals in a game.
''I don't think I've ever won anything to tell you the truth,'' said Maloney, who plays for a team that hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1940. ''I was never good at fairs or anything. I've been a klutz all the way around. I guess this proves miracles can happen.''
