# 1927–28 New York Rangers season

The 1927–28 New York Rangers season was the franchise's second season. In the regular season, the Rangers finished in second place in the American Division with a 19–16–9 record and qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs. In a pair of two-game total goals series, New York defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Bruins to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they faced the Montreal Maroons. The Rangers defeated the Maroons 3–2 to win their first Stanley Cup.

## Regular season
### Final standings

American Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 44 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 77 | 70 | 558 | 51 |
| New York Rangers | 44 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 94 | 79 | 462 | 47 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 44 | 19 | 17 | 8 | 67 | 76 | 395 | 46 |
| Detroit Cougars | 44 | 19 | 19 | 6 | 88 | 79 | 395 | 44 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 44 | 7 | 34 | 3 | 68 | 134 | 375 | 17 |
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

1927–28 Game Log :
November: 4–1–1 (Home: 1–1–1; Road: 3–0–0)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreRecord
115@ Toronto Maple Leafs4–21–0–0
217Ottawa Senators3–22–0–0
320@ New York Americans2–13–0–0
422Montreal Maroons4–33–1–0
527Boston Bruins1 – 1 OT3–1–1
629@ Ottawa Senators2–14–1–1 :
December: 4–5–3 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 2–3–2)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreRecord
71@ Montreal Maroons1 – 1 OT4–1–2
83@ Chicago Black Hawks4–24–2–2
94@ Detroit Cougars3–15–2–2
106@ Pittsburgh Pirates2 – 2 OT5–2–3
1111Montreal Canadiens2–05–3–3
1213@ Boston Bruins3–26–3–3
1315Detroit Cougars2–16–4–3
1420Pittsburgh Pirates2–07–4–3
1525Chicago Black Hawks2–08–4–3
1627@ Boston Bruins2–08–5–3
1729New York Americans3 – 3 OT8–5–4
1831@ Montreal Canadiens1–08–6–4 :
January: 6–3–1 (Home: 4–2–1; Road: 2–1–0)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreRecord
193Detroit Cougars4–28–7–4
208Chicago Black Hawks5–09–7–4
2112Boston Bruins2 – 2 OT9–7–5
2214@ Toronto Maple Leafs6–19–8–5
2315@ Detroit Cougars2–110–8–5
2417Toronto Maple Leafs2–110–9–5
2522Pittsburgh Pirates4–111–9–5
2626Detroit Cougars3–012–9–5
2729@ New York Americans7–013–9–5
2831Montreal Maroons3–114–9–5 :
February: 3–3–3 (Home: 2–2–1; Road: 1–1–2)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreRecord
294@ Pittsburgh Pirates4–214–10–5
307Ottawa Senators0 – 0 OT14–10–6
319@ Ottawa Senators0 – 0 OT14–10–7
3212Chicago Black Hawks3–014–11–7
3319Boston Bruins2–014–12–7
3423Pittsburgh Pirates3–015–12–7
3525@ Chicago Black Hawks1–016–12–7
3626@ Detroit Cougars0 – 0 OT16–12–8
3728Toronto Maple Leafs1–017–12–8 :
March: 2–4–1 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 1–3–1)
GameMarchOpponentScoreRecord
386@ Montreal Maroons3–117–13–8
398@ Montreal Canadiens4–317–14–8
4010@ Boston Bruins3 – 3 OT17–14–9
4113Montreal Canadiens4–117–15–9
4218New York Americans7–318–15–9
4321@ Chicago Black Hawks6–119–15–9
4424@ Pittsburgh Pirates4–219–16–9 :

## Playoffs

The circus knocked the Rangers out of Madison Square Garden, and all games for the Stanley Cup Finals were played in the Montreal Forum. The Maroons won game one 2–0, as Red Dutton and Bill "Bat" Phillips scored goals, and goaltender Clint Benedict made 19 saves.
A well-known incident occurred in game two when Nels Stewart fired a hard shot that struck New York goaltender Lorne Chabot in the eye. He could not continue, and the Rangers needed a goaltender. However, when the Maroons refused to let the Rangers use Alex Connell or minor league goaltender Hugh McCormick, Rangers coach Lester Patrick decided to don the pads himself. The Rangers then increased their defensive pressure when any Maroon attempted a shot on Patrick. Bill Cook scored, putting the Rangers ahead 1–0, but Nels Stewart was not to be denied and scored, tying the game. In overtime, Frank Boucher got the winner for the Rangers 7:05 into overtime. The 44-year-old Patrick made 17 saves in his goaltending stint.
Joe "Red Light" Miller, New York Americans goalie, was allowed to take Chabot's place in goal, and he played well in a 2–0 loss in game three. However, Frank Boucher starred as the Rangers took the next two games, and the Stanley Cup; he scored twice in the Rangers' 2–1 game five victory. The Rangers almost lost another goalie to injury in the final game when Miller was badly cut while Murray Murdoch attempted to clear a loose puck away from goal, but he was able to continue. The crowd became unruly in the third period, throwing objects onto the ice after referee Mike Rodden disallowed an apparent game-tying goal by the Maroons. Even NHL president Frank Calder was a target of some fans immediately following the game. The Rangers became the second Stanley Cup champion from the United States, and the NHL's first American Cup-winning team.
Key: Win Loss
1928 Stanley Cup playoffs :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Frank Boucher | 44 | 23 | 12 | 35 | 14 |
| Frederick Cook | 44 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 45 |
| Bill Cook | 43 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 42 |
| Ivan Johnson | 43 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 146 |
| Murray Murdoch | 43 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 14 |
| Paul Thompson | 41 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
| Leo Bourgeault | 35 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 72 |
| Alex Gray | 44 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 30 |
| Billy Boyd | 38 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 11 |
| Clarence Abel | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 |
| Laurie Scott | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Frank Callighen | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
Playoffs :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Frank Boucher | 9 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
| Bill Cook | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 |
| Murray Murdoch | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| Frederick Cook | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Ivan Johnson | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 46 |
| Clarence Abel | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Alex Gray | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Frank Callighen | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Boyd | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leo Bourgeault | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Paul Thompson | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |

### Goaltenders

Regular Season :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Lorne Chabot | 44 | 2730 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 79 | 1.74 | 11 |

### Goaltenders

Playoffs :
| Player | GP | TOI | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Lorne Chabot | 6 | 321 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1.50 | 1 |
| Joe Miller | 3 | 180 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1.00 | 1 |
| Lester Patrick | 1 | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.30 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only. $^‡$Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;