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1939–40 New York Rangers season

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NYR39-40
1939–40 New York Rangers
Division 2nd NHL
1939–40 record 27–11–10
Goals for 136
Goals against 77
Team information
General manager Lester Patrick
Coach Frank Boucher
Captain Art Coulter
Arena Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals Bryan Hextall (24)
Assists Phil Watson (28)
Points Bryan Hextall (39)
Penalty minutes Art Coulter (68)
Wins Dave Kerr (27)
Goals against average Dave Kerr (1.54)

The 1939–40 New York Rangers season was the 14th season for the team in the National Hockey League (NHL). With new coach Frank Boucher the Rangers finished 2nd in the league with an impressive 27–11–10 record. In the Semi-finals, the Rangers beat the Boston Bruins in 6 games to advance to the 1940 Stanley Cup Finals. In the Finals, the Rangers won their first 2 games by scores of 2–1 and 6–2 at the Garden, before finishing the series on the road because of the circus. After dropping the first 2 games against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Rangers won a critical Game 5 by 2–1 on Muzz Patrick's overtime goal. In Game 6, it would take overtime again as the Rangers won the Stanley Cup for the 3rd time 3–2 on Bryan Hextall's goal 2:33 into OT.

Pre-season[]

The Rangers held their training camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba and played a six game series against the New York Americans in western Canada:

  • Friday, October 20 Rangers 2 Americans 2 @ Winnipeg
  • Saturday, October 21 Rangers 3 Americans 2 @ Port Arthur
  • Monday, October 23 Rangers 4 Americans 2 @ Winnipeg
  • Tuesday, October 24 Rangers 5 Americans 2 @ Regina
  • Saturday, October 28 Americans 2 Rangers 0 @ Regina
  • Monday, October 30 Americans 3 Rangers 1 @ Winnipeg

The Rangers won the series 3 wins to 2, 1 tie.

Regular Season[]

The New York Rangers-Montreal Canadiens 6-2 game on February 25, 1940 was the first ice hockey game ever to be shown on TV in the USA.

Following the season the Rangers would celebrate buying out their lease at Madison Square Garden by burning the lease in the historic Stanley Cup, a move that would take on greater mystery in coming years.

Final Standings[]

National Hockey League
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
Boston Bruins 48 31 12 5 170 98 330 67
New York Rangers 48 27 11 10 136 77 520 64
Toronto Maple Leafs 48 25 17 6 134 110 485 56
Chicago Black Hawks 48 23 19 6 112 120 351 52
Detroit Red Wings 48 16 26 6 90 126 250 38
New York Americans 48 15 29 4 106 140 236 34
Montreal Canadiens 48 10 33 5 90 167 338 25


Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalty Minutes, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log[]

Regular Season Results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T November 5, 1939 1–1 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 0–0–1
2 T November 11, 1939 1–1 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 0–0–2
3 L November 12, 1939 0–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 0–1–2
4 L November 16, 1939 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 0–2–2
5 W November 18, 1939 3–1 @ New York Americans (1939–40) 1–2–2
6 L November 19, 1939 1–2 OT Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 1–3–2
7 T November 23, 1939 1–1 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 1–3–3
8 T November 26, 1939 2–2 OT @ Boston Bruins (1939–40) 1–3–4
9 W November 28, 1939 4–1 Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 2–3–4
10 W November 30, 1939 7–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 3–3–4
11 T December 2, 1939 1–1 OT New York Americans (1939–40) 3–3–5
12 W December 10, 1939 3–2 Boston Bruins (1939–40) 4–3–5
13 T December 14, 1939 2–2 OT Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 4–3–6
14 W December 16, 1939 4–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 5–3–6
15 T December 17, 1939 0–0 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 5–3–7
16 W December 19, 1939 5–2 Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 6–3–7
17 W December 23, 1939 7–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 7–3–7
18 W December 25, 1939 4–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 8–3–7
19 W December 29, 1939 4–0 Boston Bruins (1939–40) 9–3–7
20 W December 31, 1939 5–2 New York Americans (1939–40) 10–3–7
21 W January 2, 1940 6–4 @ Boston Bruins (1939–40) 11–3–7
22 W January 4, 1940 6–2 @ New York Americans (1939–40) 12–3–7
23 W January 7, 1940 3–0 Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 13–3–7
24 W January 11, 1940 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 14–3–7
25 W January 13, 1940 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 15–3–7
26 L January 14, 1940 1–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 15–4–7
27 W January 18, 1940 1–0 @ Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 16–4–7
28 W January 21, 1940 4–2 Boston Bruins (1939–40) 17–4–7
29 W January 23, 1940 5–3 @ New York Americans (1939–40) 18–4–7
30 W January 25, 1940 3–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 19–4–7
31 W January 28, 1940 4–2 New York Americans (1939–40) 20–4–7
32 L February 1, 1940 0–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 20–5–7
33 W February 4, 1940 9–0 Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 21–5–7
34 L February 6, 1940 2–6 @ Boston Bruins (1939–40) 21–6–7
35 W February 8, 1940 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 22–6–7
36 T February 10, 1940 4–4 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 22–6–8
37 L February 11, 1940 0–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 22–7–8
38 W February 15, 1940 3–1 Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 23–7–8
39 L February 18, 1940 0–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1939–40) 23–8–8
40 L February 22, 1940 0–1 OT @ New York Americans (1939–40) 23–9–8
41 W February 24, 1940 2–0 @ Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 24–9–8
42 W February 25, 1940 6–2 Montreal Canadiens (1939–40) 25–9–8
43 L February 29, 1940 1–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 25–10–8
44 T March 2, 1940 1–1 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1939–40) 25–10–9
45 W March 3, 1940 2–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1939–40) 26–10–9
46 W March 10, 1940 4–2 New York Americans (1939–40) 27–10–9
47 L March 12, 1940 1–2 @ Boston Bruins (1939–40) 27–11–9
48 T March 14, 1940 0–0 OT Boston Bruins (1939–40) 27–11–10

Playoffs[]

New York Rangers 4, Boston Bruins 2[]

The league's two best teams met in the second round of the playoffs, both teams having received byes in the first round. The Bruins lost 4 players to injury during the series. The Rangers held league leading scorer Milt Schmidt off the score sheet for the series and won 4-2, with goalie Dave Kerr posting three shutouts. The Rangers would go on to the beat the Leafs in the Finals.

Game 1 at Madison Square Garden was dominated by the Rangers. After Phil Watson put the Rangers up 1-0 in the second period, the "Bread Line" of Alex Shibicky, Neil Colville and Mac Colville took over. Combining for 7 points on a goal by Shibicky and two by Mac, the Rangers blanked the Bruins 4-0 with Dave Kerr earning the shutout.

Game 2 in Boston was special teams battle. A huge brawl in the first period saw seven players in the penalty box after which Mac Colville scored a Shorthanded goal. The Bruins special teams took over in the second period. Power play goals by Flash Hollett and Woody Dumart and a shorthanded goal by Herb Cain spotted them a 3-1 lead. The Rangers Dutch Hiller made it close at 9:56 of the third but Art Jackson sealed the Bruins 4-2 victory with a late goal. The Bruins Mel Hill broke his ankle and was lost for the remainder of the series.

Game 3 in Boston was a close affair with the team trading goals throughout the game. A pair by Eddie Wiseman, who opened the scoring at 7:21 of the first and netted the winner at 7:49 of the third period was the difference as the Bruins took game 3 by a 4-3 score and led in the series 2-1.

Game 4 in New York was a goaltending duel between Frank Brimsek and Kerr with the Rangers prevailing 1-0 on a 40 foot shot by Muzz Patrick at 10:40 of the third period to tie the series 2-2. The Bruins lost defenseman Des Smith to injury for the remainder of the series.

Game 5 in Boston was a repeat of Game 4 but with Babe Pratt scoring the game's only goal at 4:27 of the third period on a two on one with Alex Shibicky. The Bruins Art Jackson broke his ankle in the first period. With 20 seconds left, the Bruins pulled Brimsek for an extra attacker but to no avail. Dit Clapper hurt his ankle at the end of the game and wouldn't play in Game 6.

Game 6 in New York saw the Bruins go ahead 1-0 on a late first period goal by Roy Conacher assisted by Art Jackson's replacement Terry Reardon. But the shorthanded Bruins, playing without Jackson, Des Smith, Mel Hill and Clapper couldn't hold off the Rangers and Alf Pike tied it up in the second period. In the third, Alex Shibicky scored to make it 2-1 and in the process Robert "Red" Hamill took a major penalty for high-sticking and broke Shibicky's nose. The Rangers capitalized on the power play with goals by Clint Smith and Phil Watson to win the series with a 4-1 victory in front of their home town faithful.

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 March 19 Boston Bruins 0-4 New York Rangers 0-1
2 March 21 New York Rangers 2-4 Boston Bruins 1-1
3 March 24 New York Rangers 3-4 Boston Bruins 1-2
4 March 26 Boston Bruins 0-1 New York Rangers 2-2
5 March 28 New York Rangers 1-0 Boston Bruins 3-2
6 March 30 Boston Bruins 1-4 New York Rangers 2-4


New York Rangers 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 2[]

The final series between the Rangers and the Maple Leafs was an exciting one that went back and forth with three overtime games. The Rangers took the first two at home and the Leafs took the next two in Toronto. The circus forced the Rangers to vacate Madison Square Garden after the first two games. The Rangers would score three game-winning goals in overtime including the Cup winner. Lynn and Murray Patrick played for the Rangers to be the third and fourth members of the Patrick family to win the Stanley Cup.

Bryan Hextall scored in overtime in the final game to give the Rangers their last Stanley Cup until 1994.

Date Away Score Home Score Notes
April 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 1 New York Rangers 2 OT
April 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 New York Rangers 6
April 6 New York Rangers 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 2
April 9 New York Rangers 0 Toronto Maple Leafs 3
April 11 New York Rangers 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 1 2OT
April 13 New York Rangers 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 OT

New York wins best-of-seven series 4–2.

Player Stats[]

Regular Season[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Hextall, BryanBryan Hextall RW 48 24 15 39 52
Colville, NeilNeil Colville C/D 48 19 19 38 22
Watson, PhilPhil Watson RW/C 48 7 28 35 42
Shibicky, AlexAlex Shibicky RW 44 11 21 32 33
Hiller, DutchDutch Hiller LW 48 13 18 31 57
MacDonald, KilbyKilby MacDonald LW 44 15 13 28 19
Patrick, LynnLynn Patrick C/LW 48 12 16 28 34
Smith, ClintClint Smith C 41 8 16 24 2
Colville, MacMac Colville RW/D 47 7 14 21 12
Heller, OttOtt Heller D 47 5 14 19 26
Pike, AlfAlf Pike LW/C 47 8 9 17 38
Pratt, BabeBabe Pratt D 48 4 13 17 61
Coulter, ArtArt Coulter D 48 1 9 10 68
Patrick, MuzzMuzz Patrick D 46 2 4 6 44
Polich, JohnJohn Polich RW 1 0 0 0 0
Smith, StanStan Smith C 1 0 0 0 0
Barton, CliffCliff Barton RW 3 0 0 0 0
Kerr, DaveDave Kerr G 48 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Kerr, DaveDave Kerr 3000 48 27 11 10 77 1.54 8
Team: 3000 48 27 11 10 77 1.54 8

Playoffs[]

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Watson, PhilPhil Watson RW/C 12 3 6 9 16
Colville, NeilNeil Colville C/D 12 2 7 9 18
Hextall, BryanBryan Hextall RW 12 4 3 7 11
Shibicky, AlexAlex Shibicky RW 11 2 5 7 4
Hiller, DutchDutch Hiller LW 12 2 4 6 2
Colville, MacMac Colville RW/D 12 3 2 5 6
Pike, AlfAlf Pike LW/C 12 3 1 4 6
Pratt, BabeBabe Pratt D 12 3 1 4 18
Patrick, LynnLynn Patrick C/LW 12 2 2 4 4
Smith, ClintClint Smith C 11 1 3 4 2
Patrick, MuzzMuzz Patrick D 12 3 0 3 13
Heller, OttOtt Heller D 12 0 3 3 12
MacDonald, KilbyKilby MacDonald LW 12 0 2 2 4
Coulter, ArtArt Coulter D 12 1 0 1 21
Smith, StanStan Smith C 1 0 0 0 0
Kerr, DaveDave Kerr G 12 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Kerr, DaveDave Kerr 770 12 8 4 20 1.56 3
Team: 770 12 8 4 20 1.56 3

[1]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

1940 New York Rangers Stanley Cup Champions[]

Dave Kerr, Art Coulter, Ott Heller, Alex Shibicky, Mac Colville, Neil Colville, Phil Watson, Lynn Patrick, Clint Smith, Muzz Patrick, Babe Pratt, Bryan Hextall, Kilby MacDonald, Dutch Hiller, Alf Pike, Stanford Smith, Lester Patrick (manager), Frank Boucher (coach), Harry Westerby (trainer)

Awards and Records[]

Gallery[]

Video[]

A minute of highlights of the March 19, 1940 Semi-finals Game 1 which the Rangers won 4-0 on their way to winning the Stanley Cup. Second period goals by Phil Watson and Alex Shibicky are shown.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1939-40 New York Rangers Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-04.
New York Rangers Seasons

1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30 · 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 · 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 · 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 · 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 · 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 · 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 · 1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12 · 2012–13 · 2013–14 · 2014–15 · 2015–16 · 2016–17 · 2017–18 · 2018–19 · 2019–20

Bold indicates Stanley Cup Championship
New York Rangers
Team Franchise • Players • Coaches • GMs • Seasons • Records • Draft Picks • History
Madison Square Garden
Stanley Cups 1928, 1933, 1940, 1994
Affiliates Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL), Maine Mariners (ECHL)
1939–40 NHL season by team
TeamsBoston · Chicago · Detroit · Montreal Canadiens · NY Americans · NY Rangers · Toronto
See also1940 Stanley Cup Finals
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1939–40 New York Rangers season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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