The last time the Rangers and Bruins met in the playoffs was April 10th, 1973, or to put it another way, it will have been 14,645 days. Richard Nixon was in the whitehouse, and the Sears Tower wouldn’t be completed within the month.
Not a single current Ranger was born when the two teams last met, in fact Brad Stepan, Derek Stepan‘s father, was just 5 years old at the time. Boston native John Tortorella may actually remember the series, he was 14 years old, but still five years away from joining the University of Maine Black Bears.
Fellow Massachusetts born assistant coach Mike Sullivan was five years old, and more than 18 years away from his own NHL debut. Current Ranger GM Glen Sather was actually still playing at the time, for the Rangers no less.
Jean Ratelle lead the team with 41 goals and 94 points during the regular season, Rod Seiling was an impressive +43 and Al Blanchard was the Rangers’ 1st round draft pick – he never made it to the NHL- chosen 10th overall. Steve Vickers was in his first year, and would go on to win the Calder Trophy for the league’s best rookie. He would be the 7th Ranger to win the honor, and the first in 19 years.
CBJ
NJD