TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 29: Reijo Ruotsalainen #29 of the New York Rangers skates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during NHL game action on February 29, 1984 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
What happened on March 17 in the history of the New York Rangers
On this date in 1982 the New York Rangers celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a hat trick by defenseman Reijo Ruotsalainen. It came in a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden.
Ruotsalainen joined a select group of New York Rangers defensemen to register a hat trick, following Brad Park, Carol Vadnais, Ron Greschner and Dave Maloney.