The1978–79 New York Rangers season was the franchise's53rd season. The highlight of the season was participating in theStanley Cup Finals, as the Rangers played 12 consecutive playoff games without losing in regulation.
The Rangers choseDon Maloney with their first pick, in the second-round, 26th over-all. Maloney was the younger brother ofDave Maloney, a defenceman with the Rangers. Don Maloney would get into 28 games for the Rangers that season.
In 1978 the Ranger's introduced a new color scheme. While the logo and design remained the same, the Rangers changed to a much lighter shade of blue, dispensing with the dark blue that had been used since the team's inception in 1926.[1] The Rangers would use the new colors until 1999.
February 25: During a win against the Islanders,Ulf Nilsson was injured on a hip check byDenis Potvin of theNew York Islanders. He suffered a broken ankle when his skate blade got caught in a crevice in the Madison Square Garden ice as he was hit by Potvin, which resulted in Nilsson bearing the entire force of the hit on only one leg. Although Nilsson has never characterized the hit as dirty and, in 2009, said, "He [Potvin] was always fair. But the ice was never great in the Garden, because they had basketball and other events. My foot got caught. It was a freak thing." Nevertheless the incident is still commemorated by the "Potvin Sucks" chant that takes place during every Rangers home game, and to this day, this would serve as the origin to this infamous "Potvin Sucks" chant atMadison Square Garden.
The Rangers faced the defending championMontreal Canadiens, who were making their fourth straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance. It was the Rangers' first appearance in the finals since the1972 Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their fourth consecutiveStanley Cup.
†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.