Nov. 16: Rangers defeat defending champion Maroons in NHL debut

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: Nov. 16
1926:The New York Rangers are a winner in their NHL debut.

One season after the New York Americans join the League and show that hockey can be a big draw in the Big Apple, the Rangers (owned by Madison Square Garden, where the Americans are a tenant) draw more than 13,000 fans for their first NHL game,
a 1-0 victory
against the defending Stanley Cup champion Montreal Maroons.
Forward
Bill Cook
, New York's captain, scores the first goal in Rangers history at 18:37 the second period.
Hal Winkler
makes it stand up, becoming the first goalie to earn a shutout in his NHL debut.
Perhaps the most ironic event occurs in the third period, when Rangers center
Frank Boucher
and Montreal's
Merlyn Phillips
drop the gloves. It's the only fight of Boucher's NHL career; he goes on to win the
Lady Byng Trophy
as the League's most gentlemanly player seven times in eight seasons. Lady Byng finally gives him the original trophy to keep and has a second one made.

MORE MOMENTS
1969:
Bobby Orr
has the first
four-assist game
of his NHL career, helping the Boston Bruins outlast the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 at Boston Garden. Orr assists on three of Boston's four goals in the second period and gets his fourth on
Phil Esposito
's power-play goal at 6:29 of the third.
1986: New York Islanders forward
Mike Bossy
scores the 545th goal of his career, passing Hall of Famer
Maurice Richard
to move into sixth place on the NHL's all-time scoring list. It's the only goal for the visiting Islanders in
a 3-1 loss
to the Winnipeg Jets.

2001: Two Detroit Red Wings reach milestones in
an 8-3 victory
against the Minnesota Wild at Joe Louis Arena.
Steve Yzerman
scores twice, including the 650th NHL goal of his career, and
Brett Hull
has two assists to give him 1,200 points.
2003: The Calgary Flames acquire goalie
Miikka Kiprusoff
in a trade with the San Jose Sharks for a second-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. Kiprusoff goes on to lead the League with a 1.69 goals-against average and is 24-10 with four ties for the Flames after going 5-14-0 with the Sharks the previous season. He helps the Flames reach
Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final
before they lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

2014:Troy Grosenick
makes 45 saves
in his NHL debut to help the Sharks to a 2-0 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Grosenick, an undrafted free agent who signs with the Sharks after playing at Union College, becomes the third U.S.-born goalie to have a shutout in his first NHL game. He makes a first-period goal by Tomas Hertl stand up until Joe Thornton hits the empty net with eight seconds remaining.
2018:Jason Dickinson scores at 1:34 of overtime to give the Dallas Stars a
1-0 victory
against the Boston Bruins at American Airlines Center. Ben Bishop makes 23 saves. It's the first 1-0 regular-season victory in overtime for the Stars/Minnesota North Stars since the NHL brings back overtime for the 1983-84 season.
2019:Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning scores his 400th NHL goal during the third period of a
4-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets
at Amalie Arena. Stamkos scores No. 400 in his 763rd NHL game, the second-fastest among active players behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.