April 7, 1928: Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals is played at the Montreal Forum, between the host Montreal Maroons and the New York Rangers. The Maroons had won the Cup in only their 2nd season, 1926. Now, the Rangers stood to do the same.
Except the Maroons won Game 1, 2-0. And on this night, in the 2nd period of Game 2, with the game still 0-0, Ranger goaltender Lorne Chabot had to leave the game after being struck in the eye with a puck. While the rules of the time allowed a team to use an emergency goalie, the opposing team has to consent to the affected team's choice. Alex Connell of the Ottawa Senators was in attendance. So was Hugh McCormick of the Montreal Victorias, an amateur team that, in the pre-professional era, had won the Stanley Cup in 1895, 1897, 1898 and 1899. But the Maroons refused to allow either to be used.
Lester Patrick, the Rangers' head coach and general manager, had once been one of the best players in hockey. A defenseman, he had helped the Montreal Wanderers win the Stanley Cup in 1906 and 1907. So had Art Ross, who would be the first coach and GM of the Boston Bruins. Patrick and Ross would both be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as players, despite their greatest contributions being as executives.
Lester and his brother Frank Patrick became executives, building the arenas in the 2 main cities of British Columbia: The largest city, Vancouver; and the capital city, Victoria. In 1925, Lester coached the Victoria Cougars to win the Cup -- the last non-NHL team to do it. In 1926, he was hired as the Rangers' 1st head coach and general manager.
He was 44 years old, had played just 1 game in the last 2 years, and had only played in goal once in his life. But he stepped up, put on the gear, including a Rangers jersey with Number 16 on the back, and took his place in the Ranger goal.
He allowed just 1 goal, in a game the Rangers won, 7:05 into overtime, on a goal by Frank Boucher, 2-1.
Chabot was ready to go for Game 3, and the Rangers won it, 2-0. They won Game 4, 1-0. And they won Game 5, 2-1, with Boucher scoring both goals.
Led by Patrick, the Rangers would win the Cup again in 1933. In 1940, with Patrick still the GM but Boucher having replaced him as head coach, they won it again. He was head coach from 1926 to 1939, and general manager from 1926 to 1946. In 1947, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. He died in 1960, at the age of 76. Not until 1994 would the Rangers win the Cup without both Patrick and Boucher being directly involved.
Oddly, given that he is the most important person in Ranger history, the Rangers have not retired a number for Patrick. You say he only wore 16 for 1 night? Well, the Knicks retired a number for Red Holzman, the coach who led them to the 1970 and 1973 NBA Championships, and he never played for them. (He did, however, play for the Rochester Royals as they beat the Knicks in the 1951 NBA Finals.) They hung a banner bearing the number 613, for the number of games he won as Knick head coach. So why not retire a number for Patrick?
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April 7, 1928 was a Saturday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. Professional basketball existed on what was basically a minor-league level.
There were scores in English soccer. Among them was a North London Derby: Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal, 2-0 at White Hart Lane.
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