Tony D’Angelo

When a Coach Turned Goaltender For the New York Rangers

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New York Rangers

On Monday, the New York Rangers posed a question via twitter to head coach David Quinn. They asked him if he could choose a player to trade places with and coach the Rangers for a day, who would he pick? Quinn chose defenseman Tony D’Angelo. Now would that mean Coach Quinn would suit up and take D’Angleo’s place on the blueline? Quinn did play in the AHL and IHL as a defenseman. But as strange as that sounds, there was an instance in Ranger’s history when a coach had to step on the ice, during the Stanley Cup finals nonetheless.

When the Coach turned Goaltender for the New York Rangers

In 1928, the New York Rangers, under the guidance of the legendary coach, player, and GM Lester Patrick, qualified for the Stanley Cup finals. Their opponent was the Montreal Maroons. The game was simpler then, especially the rosters. The 1928 New York Rangers roster revealed that they carried eight forwards, five defensemen, and one goalie. Carrying one goalie was the norm back then, and there were some instances when a goalie was literally called out of the stands to replace an injured netminder. The Rangers would have done that in game 2 of the series when starting goaltender Lorne Chabot suffered an eye injury after being hit by the puck in the middle of the second period. This was way before the time goalies wore masks. Alec Connell, the Ottawa Senators’ star goaltender was in the stands, as well as minor-leaguer Hugh McCormick. However, Montreal head coach Eddie Gerard refused to allow either to man the nets for the Rangers, denying them the opportunity to use the EBUG, as we now call the procedure.

So at the age of 44 years, 99 days, head coach Lester Patrick inserted himself at goal. Patrick was an accomplished defenseman, playing many years for the Victoria Aristocrats of the PCHL. Since teams did not employ assistants back then, Odie Cleghorn, the then-coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates (yes, they did have a hockey team by that name), stood in for Patrick as a coach for the remainder of the game. Interestingly enough, the Rangers had defeated the Pirates in the Quarterfinals. Patrick did his job, stopping 18 of 19 shots, allowing the Rangers to secure the 2-1 overtime victory. After that, the NHL allowed the Rangers to use fellow NHL goalie Joe Miller of the New York Americans for the next three games, thus allowing the Rangers to win their first-ever Stanley Cup.

Surging New York Rangers Head to Western Canada

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New York Rangers

It would have been effortless for a young New York Rangers team to fold up shop after the Toronto Maple Leafs scored two goals in the third period, including the tying goal with just 53 seconds remaining in the game. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Artemi Panarin hit Tony D’Angelo with a pass that he buried for the game-winner just 52 seconds into overtime to lift the Blueshirts to the victory.  The win gave the Rangers two in a row and broke Toronto’s six-game winning streak.

Can the New York Rangers Keep the Momentum Going?

That is certainly on the Rangers’ minds as they head out to Western Canada for three games against the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Vancouver Canucks.  One of the keys to sustaining momentum will be the continued strong play at goal. Slightly lost in last night’s game was that goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stopped 43 of the Leaf’s 47 shots. This marked the third time that Georgiev made 40 or more saves in a game against Toronto. This follows Friday night’s reliable performance by Henrik Lundquist in their win against Carolina.

The other factor in sustaining the momentum is for the stars to keep doing what they have been doing. On Saturday night, Ryan Strome had two goals and two assists while Panarin added three assists, including the one on the game-winner. Mika Zibanejad scored a goal with an assist from Chris Kreider.

These combos on the first two lines need to continue to lead the way in order for the Rangers to continue their winning ways on the road. This also includes the intangibles, which include the ability to keep their composure when things are not going well. Such as the case on Saturday night when they gave up two goals that sent the match into overtime. Even with that, the Rangers remained confident.

After the game, Tony D’Angelo stated:

“I don’t think anyone was panicking when we gave up the lead. They had a lot of good chances and Georgiev played real well, but just like we got our goals, they got theirs, and sometimes that’s how the game goes, but we stuck with it and found a way to pick up the extra point.”

A great attitude for a maturing team.

Injury Update

The Rangers will be missing Brendan Lemieux, who will out three to four weeks after sustaining a broken hand on Friday. They recalled Steven Fogarty from Hartford to take his place in a related note. The Maple Leafs are without Ilya Mikheyev, who had surgery to repair an artery in his right wrist and will be out at least three months. The league announced that in the wake Mikheyev’s injury, the NHL’s laceration task force will meet to discuss ways of making the game safer at All-Star weekend.