1996–97 New York Rangers season

The 1996–97 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 71st season. The highlight of the season was that it was Wayne Gretzky's first season in New York.

1996–97 New York Rangers
Division	4th Atlantic
Conference	5th Eastern
1996–97 record	38–34–10
Home record	21–14–6
Road record	17–20–4
Goals for	258
Goals against	231
Team information
General manager	Neil Smith
Coach	Colin Campbell
Captain	Mark Messier
Alternate captains	Brian Leetch Adam Graves
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Average attendance	18,200 (100%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Binghamton Rangers Charlotte Checkers
Team leaders
Goals	Mark Messier (36)
Assists	Wayne Gretzky (72)
Points	Wayne Gretzky (97)
Penalty minutes	Darren Langdon (195)
Plus/minus	Brian Leetch (+31)
Wins	Mike Richter (33)
Goals against average	Glenn Healy (2.61)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The Rangers qualified for the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers. This marked the last playoff appearance for the Rangers until the 2005–06 season.

Regular season

The Rangers had the fewest power-play opportunities during the regular season (287), but the best power-play percentage (21.95%).^[1]

Final standings

Atlantic Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	New Jersey Devils	82	45	23	14	231	182	104
2	3	Philadelphia Flyers	82	45	24	13	274	217	103
3	4	Florida Panthers	82	35	28	19	221	201	89
4	5	New York Rangers	82	38	34	10	258	231	86
5	9	Washington Capitals	82	33	40	9	214	231	75
6	11	Tampa Bay Lightning	82	32	40	10	217	247	74
7	12	New York Islanders	82	29	41	12	240	250	70

Eastern Conference^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	New Jersey Devils	ATL	82	45	23	14	231	182	104
2	Buffalo Sabres	NE	82	40	30	12	237	208	92
3	Philadelphia Flyers	ATL	82	45	24	13	274	217	103
4	Florida Panthers	ATL	82	35	28	19	221	201	89
5	New York Rangers	ATL	82	38	34	10	258	231	86
6	Pittsburgh Penguins	NE	82	38	36	8	285	280	84
7	Ottawa Senators	NE	82	31	36	15	226	234	77
8	Montreal Canadiens	NE	82	31	36	15	249	276	77
9	Washington Capitals	ATL	82	33	40	9	214	231	75
10	Hartford Whalers	NE	82	32	39	11	226	256	75
11	Tampa Bay Lightning	ATL	82	32	40	10	217	247	74
12	New York Islanders	ATL	82	29	41	12	240	250	70
13	Boston Bruins	NE	82	26	47	9	234	300	61

Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

Main article: 1997 Stanley Cup playoffs

Schedule and results

Regular season

1996–97 regular season[3]
October: 5–6–3 (home: 4–3–1; road: 1–3–2) Game Date Opponent Score Record Recap 1 October 5, 1996 @ Boston Bruins 4–4 OT 0–0–1 T 2 October 6, 1996 Florida Panthers 5–2 0–1–1 L 3 October 8, 1996 @ Florida Panthers 1–1 OT 0–1–2 T 4 October 10, 1996 Dallas Stars 2–1 0–2–2 L 5 October 12, 1996 @ Montreal Canadiens 5–2 0–3–2 L 6 October 14, 1996 Calgary Flames 5–4 1–3–2 W 7 October 16, 1996 Pittsburgh Penguins 8–1 2–3–2 W 8 October 18, 1996 St. Louis Blues 2–1 3–3–2 W 9 October 20, 1996 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 5–2 3–4–2 L 10 October 23, 1996 Washington Capitals 3–2 3–5–2 L 11 October 25, 1996 @ Florida Panthers 6–4 3–6–2 L 12 October 27, 1996 Buffalo Sabres 6–4 4–6–2 W 13 October 29, 1996 Florida Panthers 1–1 OT 4–6–3 T 14 October 30, 1996 @ New Jersey Devils 6–1 5–6–3 W
November: 4–7–1 (home: 0–3–0; road: 4–4–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record Recap 15 November 2, 1996 @ Boston Bruins 5–2 6–6–3 W 16 November 4, 1996 Tampa Bay Lightning 5–3 6–7–3 L 17 November 6, 1996 @ New York Islanders 1–1 OT 6–7–4 T 18 November 9, 1996 @ Washington Capitals 3–2 6–8–4 L 19 November 11, 1996 Vancouver Canucks 3–2 6–9–4 L 20 November 13, 1996 Philadelphia Flyers 2–1 6–10–4 L 21 November 16, 1996 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 8–3 7–10–4 W 22 November 18, 1996 @ Calgary Flames 5–3 7–11–4 L 23 November 21, 1996 @ Edmonton Oilers 3–2 7–12–4 L 24 November 23, 1996 @ Vancouver Canucks 5–3 7–13–4 L 25 November 26, 1996 @ Phoenix Coyotes 3–1 8–13–4 W 26 November 27, 1996 @ Colorado Avalanche 5–2 9–13–4 W
December: 11–3–1 (home: 7–1–1; road: 4–2–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record Recap 27 December 1, 1996 Montreal Canadiens 6–2 10–13–4 W 28 December 4, 1996 Philadelphia Flyers 1–1 OT 10–13–5 T 29 December 6, 1996 Toronto Maple Leafs 6–5 11–13–5 W 30 December 7, 1996 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 12–13–5 W 31 December 9, 1996 Phoenix Coyotes 5–2 13–13–5 W 32 December 11, 1996 New York Islanders 5–3 13–14–5 L 33 December 13, 1996 @ Buffalo Sabres 3–0 14–14–5 W 34 December 16, 1996 Hartford Whalers 5–2 15–14–5 W 35 December 18, 1996 Los Angeles Kings 4–0 16–14–5 W 36 December 21, 1996 @ Montreal Canadiens 3–2 OT 17–14–5 W 37 December 22, 1996 Florida Panthers 7–3 18–14–5 W 38 December 26, 1996 @ Ottawa Senators 5–2 18–15–5 L 39 December 27, 1996 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3–2 19–15–5 W 40 December 30, 1996 @ Dallas Stars 3–2 20–15–5 W 41 December 31, 1996 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 4–2 20–16–5 L
January: 5–4–2 (home: 3–3–2; road: 2–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record Recap 42 January 2, 1997 New York Islanders 4–3 21–16–5 W 43 January 4, 1997 Ottawa Senators 6–4 22–16–5 W 44 January 6, 1997 Colorado Avalanche 2–2 OT 22–16–6 T 45 January 8, 1997 Tampa Bay Lightning 4–3 22–17–6 L 46 January 9, 1997 @ Washington Capitals 2–0 22–18–6 L 47 January 12, 1997 New Jersey Devils 3–0 23–18–6 W 48 January 13, 1997 New York Islanders 4–2 23–19–6 L 49 January 21, 1997 Edmonton Oilers 4–4 OT 23–19–7 T 50 January 22, 1997 @ Washington Capitals 5–3 24–19–7 W 51 January 25, 1997 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 7–4 25–19–7 W 52 January 27, 1997 Chicago Blackhawks 2–1 25–20–7 L
February: 3–6–2 (home: 1–1–1; road: 2–5–1) Game Date Opponent Score Record Recap 53 February 1, 1997 @ Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 26–20–7 W 54 February 2, 1997 Boston Bruins 3–2 26–21–7 L 55 February 5, 1997 Hartford Whalers 5–2 27–21–7 W 56 February 8, 1997 @ New York Islanders 5–2 28–21–7 W 57 February 9, 1997 @ Florida Panthers 4–3 28–22–7 L 58 February 13, 1997 @ St. Louis Blues 4–1 28–23–7 L 59 February 15, 1997 @ Chicago Blackhawks 2–0 28–24–7 L 60 February 17, 1997 New Jersey Devils 2–2 OT 28–24–8 T 61 February 19, 1997 @ New Jersey Devils 1–1 OT 28–24–9 T 62 February 21, 1997 @ Hartford Whalers 7–2 28–25–9 L 63 February 23, 1997 @ Philadelphia Flyers 2–1 28–26–9 L
March: 7–6–0 (home: 4–2–0; road: 3–4–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record Recap 64 March 1, 1997 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–0 28–27–9 L 65 March 3, 1997 San Jose Sharks 5–4 OT 29–27–9 W 66 March 6, 1997 @ Los Angeles Kings 6–2 30–27–9 W 67 March 7, 1997 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 5–2 30–28–9 L 68 March 9, 1997 @ San Jose Sharks 2–1 31–28–9 W 69 March 12, 1997 Washington Capitals 3–2 32–28–9 W 70 March 14, 1997 @ Ottawa Senators 4–3 OT 33–28–9 W 71 March 17, 1997 Ottawa Senators 4–3 33–29–9 L 72 March 19, 1997 Montreal Canadiens 5–4 33–30–9 L 73 March 21, 1997 Detroit Red Wings 3–1 34–30–9 W 74 March 24, 1997 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–0 35–30–9 W 75 March 27, 1997 @ New Jersey Devils 4–0 35–31–9 L 76 March 29, 1997 @ Hartford Whalers 2–1 35–32–9 L
April: 3–2–1 (home: 2–1–1; road: 1–1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Record Recap 77 April 1, 1997 Buffalo Sabres 1–1 OT 35–32–10 T 78 April 3, 1997 Boston Bruins 5–4 36–32–10 W 79 April 4, 1997 @ Buffalo Sabres 5–1 36–33–10 L 80 April 7, 1997 Philadelphia Flyers 3–2 37–33–10 W 81 April 10, 1997 @ Philadelphia Flyers 6–3 38–33–10 W 82 April 11, 1997 Tampa Bay Lightning 4–2 38–34–10 L
Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1997 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Florida Panthers – Rangers win 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score Series Recap 1 April 17, 1997 @ Florida Panthers 3–0 Panthers lead 1–0 L 2 April 20, 1997 @ Florida Panthers 3–0 Series tied 1–1 W 3 April 22, 1997 Florida Panthers 4–3 OT Rangers lead 2–1 W 4 April 23, 1997 Florida Panthers 3–2 Rangers lead 3–1 W 5 April 25, 1997 @ Florida Panthers 3–2 OT Rangers win 4–1 W
Eastern Conference Semifinals vs. (1) New Jersey Devils – Rangers win 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score Series Recap 1 May 2, 1997 @ New Jersey Devils 2–0 Devils lead 1–0 L 2 May 4, 1997 @ New Jersey Devils 2–0 Series tied 1–1 W 3 May 6, 1997 New Jersey Devils 3–2 Rangers lead 2–1 W 4 May 8, 1997 New Jersey Devils 3–0 Rangers lead 3–1 W 5 May 11, 1997 @ New Jersey Devils 2–1 OT Rangers win 4–1 W
Eastern Conference Finals vs. (3) Philadelphia Flyers – Flyers win 4–1 Game Date Opponent Score Series Recap 1 May 16, 1997 @ Philadelphia Flyers 3–1 Flyers lead 1–0 L 2 May 18, 1997 @ Philadelphia Flyers 5–4 Series tied 1–1 W 3 May 20, 1997 Philadelphia Flyers 6–3 Flyers lead 2–1 L 4 May 23, 1997 Philadelphia Flyers 3–2 Flyers lead 3–1 L 5 May 25, 1997 @ Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 Flyers win 4–1 L
Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Rangers only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
99	Wayne Gretzky	C	82	25	72	97	12	28	15	10	10	20	5	2
11	Mark Messier	C	71	36	48	84	12	88	15	3	9	12	2	6
2	Brian Leetch	D	82	20	58	78	31	40	15	2	8	10	5	6
9	Adam Graves	LW	82	33	28	61	10	66	15	2	1	3	1	12
24	Niklas Sundstrom	RW	82	24	28	52	23	20	9	0	5	5	3	2
20	Luc Robitaille	LW	69	24	24	48	16	48	15	4	7	11	7	4
25	Alexander Karpovtsev	D	77	9	29	38	1	59	13	1	3	4	2	20
27	Alexei Kovalev	RW	45	13	22	35	11	42	—	—	—	—	—	—
33	Bruce Driver	D	79	5	25	30	8	48	15	0	1	1	−3	2
8[a]	Patrick Flatley	RW	68	10	12	22	6	26	11	0	0	0	2	14
13	Sergei Nemchinov‡	C	63	6	13	19	5	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
5	Ulf Samuelsson	D	73	6	11	17	3	138	15	0	2	2	1	30
28	Brian Noonan†‡	RW	44	6	9	15	−7	28	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Bill Berg	LW	67	8	6	14	2	37	3	0	0	0	−1	2
16	Daniel Goneau	LW	41	10	3	13	−5	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Jeff Beukeboom	D	80	3	9	12	22	167	15	0	1	1	5	34
39	Vladimir Vorobiev	RW	16	5	5	10	4	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Darren Langdon	LW	60	3	6	9	−1	195	10	0	0	0	−1	2
32	Mike Eastwood†	C	27	1	7	8	2	10	15	1	2	3	0	22
6	Doug Lidster	D	48	3	4	7	10	24	15	1	5	6	−2	8
21	Russ Courtnall†	RW	14	2	5	7	−3	2	15	3	4	7	1	0
26	David Oliver†	RW	14	2	1	3	3	4	3	0	0	0	0	0
10	Esa Tikkanen†	C	14	1	2	3	0	6	15	9	3	12	2	26
19	Christian Dube	C	27	1	1	2	−4	4	3	0	0	0	−2	0
14	Chris Ferraro	RW	12	1	1	2	1	6	—	—	—	—	—	—
37	Ryan VandenBussche	RW	11	1	0	1	−2	30	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Eric Cairns	D	40	0	1	1	−7	147	3	0	0	0	0	0
22	Shane Churla	RW	45	0	1	1	−10	106	15	0	0	0	−3	20
21	Jayson More‡	D	14	0	1	1	0	25	—	—	—	—	—	—
38[b]	Sylvain Blouin	D	6	0	0	0	−1	18	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Dallas Eakins†	D	3	0	0	0	−1	6	4	0	0	0	−1	4
17	Peter Ferraro	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
30	Glenn Healy	G	23	0	0	0		4	—	—	—	—	—	—
32	Sergio Momesso‡	LW	9	0	0	0	−2	11	—	—	—	—	—	—
36	Jeff Nielsen	RW	2	0	0	0	−1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Mike Richter	G	61	0	0	0		4	15	0	1	1		0
12	Ken Gernander	C	—	—	—	—	—	—	9	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Mike Richter	61	33	22	6	1945	161	2.69	.917	4	3598	15	9	6	488	33	2.11	.932	3	939
30	Glenn Healy	23	5	12	4	632	59	2.61	.907	1	1357	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	James Norris Memorial Trophy	Brian Leetch	[4]
	NHL First All-Star Team	Brian Leetch (Defense)	[5]
	NHL Second All-Star Team	Wayne Gretzky (Center)	[5]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Wayne Gretzky[c]	[7]
		Brian Leetch[c]
		Mark Messier
Team	Ceil Saidel Memorial Award	Adam Graves	[8]
	"Crumb Bum" Award	Mike Richter	[8]
	Frank Boucher Trophy	Mark Messier	[8]
	Good Guy Award	Wayne Gretzky	[8]
	Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award	Eric Cairns	[8]
	Players' Player Award	Darren Langdon	[8]
	Rangers MVP	Brian Leetch	[8]
	Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award	Brian Leetch	[8]

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Daniel Goneau	October 5, 1996	[9]
	Eric Cairns	October 8, 1996
	Christian Dube
	Sylvain Blouin	November 18, 1996
	Ryan VandenBussche	December 13, 1996
	Vladimir Vorobiev	January 12, 1997
	Jeff Nielsen	February 19, 1997

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1996 NHL entry draft in St. Louis, Missouri at the Kiel Center.^[10]

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	22	Jeff Brown	D	Canada	Sarnia Sting (OHL)
2	48	Daniel Goneau	LW	Canada	Granby Predateurs (QMJHL)
3	76	Dmitri Subbotin	LW	Russia	CSKA Moscow (Russia)
5	131	Colin Pepperall	LW	Canada	Niagara Falls Thunder (OHL)
6	158	Ola Sandberg	D	Sweden	Djurgårdens IF (SEL)
7	185	Jeff Dessner	D	United States	Taft School (Connecticut)
8	211	Ryan McKie	D	Canada	London Knights (OHL)
9	237	Ronnie Sundin	D	Sweden	Frölunda HC (SEL)

Notes

1. Flatley wore number 26 on February 5.
2. Blouin wore number 32 in his first five games.
3. Gretzky and Leetch were voted to the starting lineup.^[6]