Michael Cuviello / Amarillo Globe-News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesThere once was a period of 20 years when the Rangers believed implicitly in Santa Claus.
The Maven is talking about the days when the National Hockey League allowed games to be played on Christmas night; which no longer is the case.
Starting in 1927 – a year after the Blueshirts franchise was born – over a period of two decades, the Rangers played 16 games on Christmas night and lost only one.
"Our string of wins with Santa on our side made fans believe that Mister Claus was our seventh player against any six the opposition put on the ice," said Stan Saplin, the Rangers publicist, who researched these facts in the mid-1940's.
Actually, the only Christmas defeat took place in 1928 when the New York Americans – they then shared the old Garden with the Rangers – beat the Blueshirts 1-0.
"What was so remarkable," Saplin explained, "was that during the World War II years – when we had terrible teams – we still managed to win. On Christmas night 1943, with one of our all-time worst teams, we beat the Maple Leafs in Toronto 5-3."
Santa delivered Christmas wins through several years when Garden President General John Reed Kilpatrick tossed annual Santa parties for the players, their wives and children.
"Playing Santa was a big deal for The General," Saplin remembered, "but in 1946 he nearly blew a gasket when he showed up late and discovered that our center, Phil Watson, had beat him to it and was doing the Santa routine ahead of him."
Watson wasn't traded because Kilpatrick, like the others, was overcome with the Christmas spirit!