It's a long way from the 1972-73 season and I wonder how many fans attending tonight's game in Elmont recall the first Rangers-Islanders clash of all-time.
More than 16,000 fans crammed Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum on October 23, 1972. Although the arena seated only 14,665 it didn't seem to matter to the standees who welcomed
The Expressway Rivalry.
Among other battles, the sellout crowd was treated to a clash between Rangers Hall of Fame Right Wing Rod Gilbert and Islanders HOF goalie Billy Smith.
While Gilbert dropped his gloves Smitty made no such move nor did he remove his mask. "How could I hit him in the mask?" Rod later explained, "I'd break my hand."
Fans yelled for "Battlin' Billy" to drop his gloves and mask and only later did Smitty explain why it wasn't going to happen. "If I stopped to take off my mask, Gilbert could hit me," the goalie explained.
The next morning, reporter Gerry Eskenazi of the Times called the mixed allegiance in the building, "The Theater Of The Absurd."
While the vastly undermanned home team put up a good fight, the Rangers won 2-1. Eskenazi was correct in his prediction about the rivalry's intensity.
Christmas Greetings With A Neat Story About A Ranger
Nobody tells a better hockey story than my buddy Joltin' Joe Dinonisio.
"Future games between the clubs probably will turn into grudging, belting affairs." Tonight's event just possibly could be one of them!