1927-28 Ottawa Senators Harry "Punch" Broadbent Jersey

Born on July 13, 1892, Harry "Punch" Broadbent, after playing four seasons for various teams in the Ottawa city league, began his professional career with his hometown Ottawa Senators for the 1912-13 season when the Senators were members of the National Hockey Association, the forerunner to the NHL. Broadbent averaged more than a goal per game with 20 as well as being credited with a pair of assists for a total of 22 points from 18 games, good for seventh in the league as a rookie.

Rookie Harry Broadbent in the short-lived Senators vertically striped sweater

The following season he was limited by injuries to 17 games of Ottawa's 20 games, scoring 6 goals and 13 points, but rebounded in 1914-15 with 24 goals and 27 points while playing in all of the Senators' 20 games, which placed him fourth overall in NHA scoring. The Senators would go on to win the league playoffs and advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Vancouver Millionaires, where Broadbent would score 3 of the Senators 8 goals in their 3 game series.

Broadbent in the Senators 1914-15 flag crested jerseys

It would prove to be his last hockey for some time, as he would miss three seasons while serving in the Canadian military during World War I, for which he was awarded the Military Medal. By the time he returned to the Senators, they were now members of the fledgling National Hockey League for it's second ever season, which at the time consisted of a mere three clubs, Ottawa, the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Arenas!

Broadbent eased back into hockey with only 4 goals in just 8 games and added 2 more in 5 playoff games. He returned to form in 1919-20 with 19 goals and 23 points in 20 games to finish in the top ten in NHL scoring. The Senators advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals by winning both halves of the split NHL season and captured the first Stanley Cup championship of Broadbent's career.

The 1920-21 season was all but lost, as Broadbent's rights were dealt to the Hamilton Tigers, but he refused to report. After six days his rights were then sold to the Canadiens, but again he would not budge. Finally, seven weeks later, Broadbent's rights were transferred back to the Senators by the NHL. Eventually, he would play in just 9 regular season games and 6 playoff games as the Senators would defeat the Millionaires for their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

On December 24, 1921, just three games into the 1921-22 season, Broadbent scored his second goal of the season as well as racking up three assists, all of which came in a span of 3:15 of the third period in a 10-0 win over the Canadiens,

He scored the game winning goal on Dec. 28th in overtime to defeat the Canadiens again, only this time in Montreal. His fourth goal of the season helped Ottawa defeat Hamilton on New Year's Eve. He tallied another goal to open the scoring in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto St. Patricks on January 4th. Three days later he found the back of the net twice to defeat the Canadiens yet again, nudging his goal total to 7 and kicking his scoring pace into a higher gear.

Two goals and two assists followed on January 11th in a 7-2 defeat over Toronto before Broadbent added another pair of goals to close out the scoring in a 5-2 win in the return match against the St. Patricks in Toronto three days later. Montreal was on the receiving end of another beating, this one 10-6, as Broadbent registered a hat trick by the time the game was 23 minutes old. The spotlight was not all his though, as teammate Cy Denneny also had a hat trick while Sprague Cleghorn and Odie Cleghorn combined for 6 goals, with Odie netting 4 to take top honors in a losing effort.

A second hat trick followed on January 21, which included extended his scoring streak just 2:45 into the game, which was won by Hamilton 7-6 in overtime, who were led by Joe Malone's hat trick.

Broadbent's goal scoring streak reached ten games in Ottawa on January 25th when he scored twice in the first 2:30 of the third period in a 4-2 win over the Tigers. Goal #20 arrived on January 28th at the 12:00 mark of the second period, followed exactly two minutes later by goal #21 as the Senators held on to defeat Toronto 2-1, meaning Broadbent was a perfect eight for eight in scoring in Senators games in January.

The streak continued into February with another pair of goals against Montreal, a 4-2 win for Ottawa. While the Senators pounded Hamilton 10-6 on February 4th, Broadbent continued his goal scoring streak, extending his streak to 13 games and Ottawa's lead to 6-0 at the time, but his run of multiple goal games ended at eight and included 18 goals during that span dating back to January 7th.

While the Tigers exacted their revenge on the Senators with a 9-1 thrashing of the Senators, Broadbent's streak continued as he registered his 25th goal of the season just after the game's midway point.

The streak then reached 15 games at the 11:45 mark of the second period in a 4-4 tie at home against the St. Patricks. Broadbent's streak was pushed to 16 games with a pair of goals in another tie, this one 6-6 versus the Canadiens in Montreal.

Finally on February 18th, 1922, goaltender Howard Lockhart and the Tigers ended the longest goal scoring streak in league history, a record which still stands today, over 90 years later. During the 16 game goal scoring streak, Broadbent tallied 27 goals, an average of nearly 1.7 per game, a streak which included two hat tricks and nine multiple goal games.

Broadbent would follow being held off the scoresheet with three goals in his next two games to pass the 30 goal mark and finish the season with a staggering 32 goals and 46 points in 24 games to win the NHL scoring title by 7 points over teammate Denneny.

Broadbent would spend two more seasons in Ottawa, including winning another Stanley Cup in 1923, his third in four seasons, before being sold to the Montreal Maroons, along with goaltender Clint Benedict, just prior to the 1924-25 season. He would play for the Maroons for three seasons, which included winning his fourth Stanley Cup in 1926.

Broadbent during his first season with the Maroons

For the 1927-28 season, Broadbent was dealt back to the Senators, but his return lasted only a single season that resulted in just 3 goals and 5 points in 43 games. Ottawa then sold Broadbent, now 36 years old, to the New York Americans for his final NHL season of 1928-29.

Broadbent during his return season with the Senators

He would finish his career with 122 goals and 167 points in 302 games, four Stanley Cups. one NHL scoring title and one goal scoring record which has now stood for over 90 years and counting.

Broadbent was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on this date in 1962.

Today's featured jersey is a 1927-28 Ottawa Senators Harry "Punch" Broadbent jersey from his final season in Ottawa. This sweater has the Stanley Cup Champions patch worn on the upper left chest to commemorate the Senators final Stanley Cup title in franchise history, a frequent practice of the Senators in the 1920's, as they also wore championship patches in 1921-22 and 1923-24. This patch was the inspiration for the sleeve patches on the current Senators alternate jerseys.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1928-29 New York Americans Punch Broadbent jersey. This sweater is from Broadbent's final season in the NHL. The Americans wore their star spangled sweaters from their inaugural season of 1925-26 (pre-dating the New York Rangers by one season) through the 1937-38 season. The franchise would last through the 1941-42 season before folding, leaving the NHL with just six teams for the next 25 years.

2007-08 Tampa Bay Lightning Vaclav Prospal Jersey

Born on this date in 1975 in Ceske Budejovice, Czechoslovakia, Vaclav Prospal came of age during the right era, as in December of 1989 when Prospal was 14 years old, the Velvet Revolution took place in Czechoslovakia, which saw the end of communist rule, which, among other changes, allowed hockey players the freedom to come to North America to seek their fame and fortune. Three years later, the country divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

After playing two seasons for Motor Ceske Budejovice in the Czech junior leagues, highlighted by his 1992-93 season of 26 goals and 57 points in 32 games, and representing the Czech Republic at the 1993 European Junior Championships with 4 goals and 11 points in 6 games, Pospal was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft.

Prospal wasted no time in coming to North America and was assigned by the Flyers to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League to continue his development. He played three seasons for Hershey from 1993-94 to 1995-96. While his goal numbers were consistent (14, 13, 15), his point totals increased each season as his playmaking improved, going from 35 points to 45 and then 51.

Prospal played three seasons with Hershey

During his time in Hershey, Prospal was allowed to leave the club to participate in both the 1994 and 1995 World Junior Championships

He would play the majority of the 1996-97 season with the Flyers new AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms where his offensive game took a major step forward, as he cut loose for 32 goals and 95 points in 63 games. This led to a call up by the Flyers to make his NHL debut and he saw action in 18 games that season, scoring his first 5 goals on his way to 15 points.

"Vinny" would make the Philadelphia roster out of training camp in 1997-98 and struggled with just 5 goals and 18 points in 41 games after suffering a fractured arm during the playoffs the previous season when he collided with a teammate during practice.

Prospal broke into the NHL with the Flyers

while wearing jersey #45

He was then traded to the Ottawa Senators in January of 1998 with Pat Falloon and a 2nd round draft pick for the Senators Alexandre Daigle. Prospal played the final 15 games of the season with a goal and 7 points. In 1998-99, he improved to 10 goals and then more than doubled that to 22 in 1999-00, which combined with 22 assists, gave him 55 points on the year.

The only Canadian team Prospal played for was Ottawa

Having raised his game that year, Prospal was named to the Czech Republic squad for his first ever World Championships at the senior level. The Czechs beat Norway, Japan and then Canada to win Group 3 and then hammered Italy, lost to Finland and rebounded to beat Slovakia in the Second Round. In the playoffs, the Czechs beat Latvia 3-1 and defeated Canada for a second time 2-1 to advance to the final, where they prevailed over rivals Slovakia for the second time 5-3 to earn Prospal a gold medal. During the tournament, he contributed 3 goals and 7 points in 9 games.

He returned to Ottawa for the 2000-01 season, but again had trouble finding the net, with a lone goal and 13 points in 40 games. The Senators then dealt him to the Florida Panthers for the second half of the season, where he fared little better, with just 4 goals and 16 points in 34 games.

Prospal had a brief stint with Florida

The Panthers then sent Prospal across Florida in a trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2001-02 season. His offense benefited from the move, scoring 18 goals and 55 points in 2001-02 before a leap up to 79 points in 2002-03 from 22 goals and 57 assists.

Prospal's game benefited from his trade to Tampa Bay

For the 2003-04 season, Prospal signed as a free agent with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, playing in all 82 games and scoring 19 goals and 54 points. With the Mighty Ducks out of the playoffs, he was free to participate in the 2004 World Championships for the Czechs scoring 7 points in 7 games.

Prospal spent one season with Anaheim

That summer, Prospal was traded back to the Lightning in August, but before he could play for Tampa Bay again, he first played for the Czechs again at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Following that tournament, the NHL owners locked out the players and the season was eventually cancelled. Like many European players, Prospal returned home and played for HC Ceske Budejovice in the Czech second division, racking up 28 goals and 88 points in just 39 games as they blitzed the league with a 44-6-0-1-1 record before winning the league playoffs.

Prospal during the 2004 World Cup of Hockey

He finished the unusual 2004-05 hockey season with a second consecutive appearance at the World Championships with 8 points in 9 games as the team won Group D with wins over Switzerland, Germany and Kazakhstan (allowing just one goal in the process) and then added a win over Slovakia before dropping a 2-1 decision to Russia and rebounding a with a 5-1 win over Belarus in the Qualifying Round. In the playoffs, the Czechs defeated the United States 3-2 and then Sweden by the same score before shutting out Canada 3-0 in the final with Prospal scoring the game winning goal for the second World Championship gold medal of his career.

An exuberant Prospal lifts the World Championship trophy

With the NHL back in action for the 2005-06 season, Prospal responded by setting a career high with 80 points from 25 goals and 55 assists. During that season he also made the only Olympic appearance of his career, earning a bronze medal at the 2006 Games in Italy while contributing 4 goals and 6 points in 8 games.

Prospal had a career high with 80 points in 2005-06

After a 55 point season for Tampa Bay in 2006-07, Prospal played in 62 games of the 2007-08 season (surpassing his 2006-07 point total by two in 20 less games) before he was traded back to his original club, the Flyers for the remainder of the season, scoring 14 points in 18 games.

Prospal wore #40 during his second time in Philadelphia

Hard to believe, but the Flyers then traded Prospal to... the Lightning for his third stint with Tampa Bay! He played in all 82 games, scoring 18 goals and 45 points.

Prospal played six seasons in Tampa Bay

divided over three tours of duty with the club

For the 2009-10 season, Prospal was on the move once again, only this time to a team new to him, the New York Rangers. He recorded his fifth and final 20 goal season with exactly 20 on his way to 58 points. He returned to New York to begin the 2010-11 season, but was limited to just 29 games and 23 points due to having knee surgery.

Prospal celebrates with Ryan Callahan

He was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 2011-12 season, where he had a 55 point season which included Prospal playing in his 1,000th NHL game.

Vincent Lecavalier presents Prospal with a framed jersey

on the occasion of his 1,000th NHL game

For 2012-13, the NHL season was again interrupted by labor issues, and Prospal returned to HC Ceske Budejovice. In 19 games, he scored 23 points until the NHL season began in January and Prospal returned to the Blue Jackets for 48 games. He scored 12 goals and 30 points in what would be the final games of his career.

Prospal returned to HC Ceske Budejovice in 2012

Prospal would retire with 1,108 games played with 255 goals and 510 assists with 765 points over 16 seasons. Additionally, he would win an Olympic bronze medal and two World Championship gold medals.

Today's featured jersey is a 2007-08 Tampa Bay Lightning Vaclav Prospal jersey as worn during his second of three stints he spent with the Lightning.

This jersey was first worn in 2007-08 when Reebok introduced their new Edge jersey system to much fanfare. Tampa Bay wore this style for four seasons until the look of the franchise underwent a complete makeover with a new version of their logo and new jerseys as well.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1996-97 Philadelphia Phantoms Vaclav Prospal jersey as worn during his final season in the minors before becoming a full time NHLer later that season.

The Phantoms were formed in 1996 and were the fourth AHL team based in Philadelphia and the first since 1979. When the Flyers moved to the new CoreStates Center the decision was made to keep their original home, The Spectrum, open, but that would require a new tenant to fill the dates vacated by not only the loss of the Flyers, but also the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA.

Thus, the Flyers purchased an AHL franchise to play in the The Spectrum and become their primary AHL affiliate, ending the Flyers 12 season long agreement with the Hershey Bears.

The Phantoms were an immediate success, finishing first in the Mid-Atlantic Division their first three seasons, which included winning the Calder Cup as AHL champions during their second season of play in 1997-98. They won a second Calder Cup in 2004. Eventually, The Spectrum was slated for demolition and the Phantoms played their final season in 2008-09 before the franchise was sold and relocated.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1998-99 Ottawa Senators Vaclav Prospal jersey as worn during his first full season with the Senators.

The Senators first jerseys from their formation in 1992-93 did not have any white stripes for their first three seasons. In 1995-96, the white was added in between the red sleeve stripes, while the red waist stripe was moved to the bottom of the jersey and a white stripe added in its place. Two seasons later in 1997-98, the white sleeve numbers were changed to black for greater visibility.

The original Senators black jersey, through its evolutions, was used for seven seasons through the 1998-99 season until it was replaced by the team's red third jersey.

Extra extra bonus jersey: Today's extra extra bonus jersey is a 2011-12 Columbus Blue Jackets Vaclav Prospal jersey. The Blue Jackets introduced this radical alternate jersey for the 2010-11 season, which bore no resemblance to the teams home and road jerseys save for the use of the color blue for the body. It introduced a new primary logo and did not incorporate any of the logos from any of the team's other jerseys. It also used a new shade of blue and cream, as well as a new font for the numbers while doing away with the use of any red. This jersey remains in use today.

Prospal started his career with Philadelphia wearing #45 and then wore #13 with both Ottawa and Florida, the same number he wore in the minors with Hershey and the Phantoms, before taking #20 with Tampa Bay. He then wore #40 with Anaheim before returning to #20 when he went back to the Lightning for the second time. His return to the Flyers saw him wear #40, which he kept for his third time with Tampa Bay. It was back to #20 while with the Rangers and he wore #22 to finish his career in Columbus, the fifth jersey number of his career!

In today's video section, first, some highlights of goals scored by Prospal while with Tampa Bay.

Next, Prospal, annoyed b a deomtion down to the fourth line so Brad Richards was promoted to the first line in an effort to increase his scoring, tells it like it is after a game in a most candid interview.

Finally, in this highlight, Prospal scores a nifty backhand goal against the Detroit Red Wings.

1921-22 Ottawa Senators Frank "King" Clancy Jersey

After playing junior hockey in his native Ottawa, Frank "King" Clancy garnered the attention of the local professional club, the Ottawa Senators, who just happened to be the current World Champions.

After a tryout with the Senators, he was signed to a three year contract for $800 a year. When his current, amateur club, the St. Brigid's Athletic Club heard Clancy was planning to leave their team, they attempted to get him to reconsider, talking about the merits of amateurism and how money can often taint a sport and take the joy out of it for the athlete. When they could see that their star player was unconvinced, St. Brigid's make a counteroffer...

Seven dollars and fifty cents - for the entire season!

They explained that was all the money they had left in their treasury and Clancy could have it all if he'd stay!

Needless to say, Clancy became a member of the Senators for the 1921-22 season and played the first game of his NHL career on this date in 1921.

Clancy relates the story of his first NHL game in the 1968 book "Clancy: The King's Story as Told to Brian MacFarlane";

My first game as pro! I can remember it like it was last night. We were scheduled to play in Hamilton, and they had players on their roster like Goldie Prodgers and Ken Randall and the two Mummery boys [Harry and Walter]. They were all big men, powerful men. The night before I left home for that encounter, my poor dad came down to the station in Ottawa and gave me the kind of advice that any father would give a boy going off to play his first professional game. He took me aside, told me not to worry, to do my best and a lot of other things. Then he shook my hand and wished me luck as I got on the train. 

Now we're on the train and on our way, and I thought everything was just great. Every once in a while some passenger would come down the aisle and I could see he'd recognize some of the players. Now and again one the boys would be asked for his autograph. Nobody recognized me, of course, but I was tickled pink to be among the famous Ottawa Senators. 

We stayed at the Royal Connaught Hotel in Hamilton and that was great too. The next morning going into breakfast, I learned something else. At home my breakfast usually meant a plate of porridge, a piece of toast and maybe a glass of milk. But these guys! They polished off everything! Double orders of bacon and eggs, flapjacks, sausages, toast, rolls, and gallons of milk. I'd never seen fellows eat like that in all my life! It was a revelation to see a bunch of hungry hockey players tie on the feedbag. 

That night we headed out to the Barton Street Arena, the same arena that's used for hockey in Hamilton today. And if I thought I was going to get in a lot of ice time in my first game as a pro, I soon had another thing coming. 

Frankie Boucher and I sat on the bench right though the sixty minutes of game time. We got a chance to warm up before the game and we took a whirl around the ice between periods, but during the actual play we didn't get a smell of the ice. Boucher didn't get the call; I didn't get the call. We're sitting there like a couple of dummies. Now we come to the end of regulation time and the game is tied 2-2. This mean we have to play overtime. The coach, Petey Green, taps me on the shoulder and says, "You go out there in place of [Eddie] Gerard on the defence." Then he turns to Boucher and says, "You go out there in place of [Frank] Nighbor at centre ice." Now this was sudden-death overtime and no time to be making mistakes, and here's the coach throwing two bushers out there in place of two of the greatest players in the game. 

We just begin the overtime, when I get the luckiest break in the world. I remember getting the puck. It came back to me off the draw, and it looked like a big watermelon rolling my way. I slapped at it with my stick and stumbled on ahead with it before I let fly a pass across to Punch Broadbent. I kept going up the ice because I didn't have sense enough to stay back on defense where I belonged. Then, whoops-a-daisy, I get the puck right back again, but I was off at a poor angle and on the wrong side of the net when I took this pass. There wasn't much I could to but wing a shot at the net. I let go a backhander and, lo and behold, I look up and see the goal judge waving his handkerchief and wave it in the air. To me, this handkerchief looked at big as a bed sheet. 

I had scored on my first shot as a professional in the National Hockey League, and it was a winning goal in sudden-death overtime. Naturally I was robbed by my teammates and it then dawned on me that I should keep the puck as a souvenir. When I went after it, the Hamilton goalkeeper, a fellow by the name of [Howie] Lockhart, just glared at me. I never did know why, until a couple of years later when I met him outside the rink one day and asked him why he would do such a thing. He said it was because the puck went though a hole in the netting at the side of the goal! It hadn't gone in the front at all and so it shouldn't have counted! 

But my first goal did count and we beat Hamilton 3-2 on that shot of mine. To this day I'm not sure whether to be proud of it or embarrassed by it. But scoring that goal on my first shot in the big leagues did one thing for me. It gave me a little confidence. My teammates hadn't see how the puck went in and they couldn't care less. In the shower after the game, Gerard, whose place I'd taken, came over to me and said, "Frankie, that was a terrific shot!:" I thought it was too - until this fellow Lockhart told me what he thought about it some time later.

The "goal" would be one of just four Clancy would score as an NHL rookie in 24 games that season. Clancy would play nine seasons with the Senators, winning Stanley Cups in 1923 and 1927 and being named their captain in 1928, before moving on to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1930 in exchange for $35,000 and two players as the struggling Senators began to sell of their most valuable assets in an effort to stay in business.

Clancy would play for the Maple Leafs for seven seasons, winning another Stanley Cup in 1932, where his charismatic personality, combined with his small size and extra large toughness, would make him a beloved icon in Toronto.

The 5' 7" Clancy (back row, far right)  is dwarfed by his much larger

Senators teammates in this 1923-24 team photo

Clancy was said, according to McFarlane, to have started a thousand fights and never won any of them. At the time of his retirement in 1937, Clancy was the highest scoring defenseman in NHL history with 136 goals in 592 games, with his best season coming in 1930 with 17.

Following his playing days, Clancy became an NHL referee for 11 years before he went into coaching, first in the American Hockey League, which included a Calder Cup championship with Pittsburgh in 1952.

Doug Bentley politely conversing with referee Clancy

He was promoted to coach of the Maple Leafs in 1953 and, after three seasons, became assistant general manager until 1969 when he was made vice-president of the club, a position he held until he passed away at the age of 83 in 1986, the last surviving member of the 1923 Stanley Cup champions.

Clancy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958 and the Canada Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. In 1998, he was ranked #52 on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

One further tribute was bestowed on the legendary Clancy when the King Clancy Memorial Trophy was named in his honor and is awarded annually since 1987 to the NHL player who demonstrates leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made exceptional humanitarian contributions on the community.

Today's featured jersey is a 1922-23 Ottawa Senators King Clancy jersey. The Senators wore their barber pole jerseys for each of their 14 seasons in the NHL, a style which actually dates back to the turn of the century years prior to the formation of the NHL.

The Senators occasionally wore a special patch commemorating their standing as league champions and in 1929 an "O" crest arrived, but the black, red and white stripes were a constant, both at home and on the road, as the first road jersey did not arrive until the 1927-28 season when the newly renamed Maple Leafs introduced a white jersey to be worn for games against the New York Rangers, who also wore blue sweaters.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1931-32 Toronto Maple Leafs King Clancy jersey. This white jersey was the first road jersey in NHL history, necessitated by the green-clad Toronto St. Patricks being sold and changing their name to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1926-27 season.

When the Maple Leafs introduced a new blue jersey for the 1927-28, the New York Rangers were already wearing blue, which, for the first time in league history, necessitated a special jersey to avoid the confusion of both teams wearing blue sweaters. It would not be until six seasons later in 1933-34 that the New York Americans would become the second team to wear two different sweaters during a season.

In today's video  section, a look at the versatility of Clancy.

  
  

The 2008 NHL Premiere European Games

For the 2007-08 season, the NHL opened its regular season in Europe for the first time when the Anaheim Ducks played a pair of games versus the Los Angeles Kings at London, England's O2 Arena, with each team taking a 4-1 win.

The Ducks met the Kings in London to open the 2007 season

The concept was expanded for the start of the 2008-09 season, as the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning all traveled to Europe to being the regular season in what was christened the NHL Premiere.

Before the teams paired off for the games which would count in the NHL regular season standings, a series of exhibition games took place, starting with Tampa Bay taking on the Berlin Polar Bears (Eisbären Berlin) in Berlin on September 28th, a game won by the Lightning 4-1.

Tampa Bay met the Berlin Polar Bears in Germany

Two games occurred on September 30th, as the New York Rangers faced SC Bern in Switzerland, a game that drew over 16,000 at the PostFinance Arena, an impressive number by the annual European club team attendance leader. After leading 2-0 after two periods, the Rangers put on a clinic and pulled away in dominating fashion with 6 third period goals for an eventual 8-1 win.

The Rangers had an easy time against SC Bern

Also that same day, the Lightning took on Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia, a close game which went to Tampa Bay 3-2 in a shootout.

Tampa Bay required a shootout to defeat Slovan Bratislava of Slovakia

On October 1st, the Rangers faced the 2008 European Champions Cup winner Metallurg Magnitogork in the first annual Victoria Cup at the PostFinance Arena in Bern. With higher ticket prices and the lack of a Swiss team, combined with the NHL not sending the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, the Victoria Cup drew 13,794, which was 80.5% of capacity.

Those in attendance were treated to a thrilling game, as Magnitogorsk came out determined to show they could compete at the NHL level, and did just that, as Denis Platonov beat the Rangers Henrik Lundqvist just 88 seconds into the game. They would add a second power play goal before the first period ended when Vladimir Malenkikh converted for a 2-0 lead after the first period. Metallurg would extend their lead to a surprising three goal margin at the game's halfway point when Nikolai Zavarukhin scored at 10:20 before the Rangers would pull one back with less than thirty second left in the second on a two-man advantage when Chris Drury got New York on the board to make it 3-1 for the Russians heading into the final twenty minutes.

Chris Drury scores for the Rangers

In the third period the Rangers recognized the pride of the NHL was on the line and came roaring back, coming within one on another power-play goal at 5:45 when Dan Fritsche scored before Drury tied the game at 3-3 with yet another power play goal with 9:47 left to play. The Rangers would then win the game in dramatic fashion with the winning goal coming on a breakaway when Ryan Callahan intercepted a pass and scored against Andrei Mezin with just 20 seconds left in the game for a 4-3 win for the Rangers and the NHL.

The Rangers pose with the Victoria Cup after their comeback win

The final two tune-up games took place on October 2nd in Scandinavia, as the Penguins defeated Jokerit Helsinki in Finland 4-1 while the Senators beat Frölunda Gothenberg by an identical 4-1 margin in Sweden to keep the NHL clubs undefeated against their European opponents.

With the preliminaries now out of the way, the NHL Premiere got underway on this date in 2008 with the first game between the Rangers and the Lightning in Prague, Czech Republic, a 2-1 win for the Rangers. The game entered the third period with New York up 1-0 on a goal by Markus Naslund. At 3:37 of the final period Martin St. Louis evened the game at 1-1 but Brandon Dubinsky won it for the Rangers with a power play goal at 14:16 while Lundqvist held on the rest of the way to to seal the win for New York in front of 17,085 at the O2 Arena.

Brandon Dubinsky scored the game winner for the Rangers

13,699 fans in Stockholm's Globe Arena were treated to Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh later that same day. Just 40 seconds into the game, Tyler Kennedy gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead but just before the halfway point of the first, Shean Donovan equalized for the Senators. Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins back up by one with a shorthanded goal at 3:18 of the second but goals by Dany Heatley at 12:15 on a power play and Jason Spezza's shorthanded goal at 17:55 gave Ottawa a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes.

Jason Spezza scored shorthanded for Ottawa

There was only one goal in the third period, as Rob Scuderi scored on assists from Sidney Crosby and  Miroslav Satan at 3:56. Neither Marc-Andre Fleury for Pittsburgh or Martin Gerber for the Senators could be solved for the game winner in regulation and the game moved to overtime tied at 3-3. With 25 seconds left in overtime, Kennedy got the game winner for the Penguins for a 4-3 final score.

Tyler Kennedy celebrates for the Penguins

The very next day, October 5th, the Rangers and Lightning squared off again in Prague, with another 17,085 on hand. The Rangers won again by the same 2-1 score after Adam Hall got Tampa Bay off to a 1-0 lead at 18:17 before second period goals by Wade Redden on a power play followed by Scott Gomez scoring the game winner at 12:12. Lunqvist got his second win in two days by making 18 saves on 19 shots while the Rangers pumped 39 against Olaf Kolzig for the Lightning.

Henrik Lundqvist held the Lightning to 2 goals while picking up 2 wins in two days

Another sellout of 13,699 in Stockholm was on hand for the second Senators vs. Penguins matchup. Heatley from Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson opened the scoring on a power play for the Senators at 13:07 of the second. Heatley's second of the game, again on a power play from Alfredsson and Filip Kuba, at 12:17 of the third was followed by Antoine Vermette extending the Ottawa lead to 3-0 when he beat Fleury at 15:50. With 2 seconds left in the game Alex Goligoski from Crosby and Malkin ruined Alex Auld's shutout, but it was far too little, far, far too late as the Senators got a split in their two games with the Penguins.

Dany Heatley scored twice in the Senators win

The NHL Premiere series of games would return for the next three seasons before being put on hiatus and has yet to return and no other NHL games have taken place in Europe since 2011. Additionally, the Victoria Cup would only return once more in 2009 before it too, faded away.

Today's featured jersey is a 2008-09 Ottawa Senators Dany Heatley jersey as worn during the NHL Premiere game on October 5, 2008 when the Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 when Heatley scored two of the Senators three goals, which gave him 3 in Ottawa's first two games.

Each team played a game as the home team and the away team during the 2008 NHL Premiere while each jersey was adorned with a special commemorative patch indicating the dates of the two games and whether the series was held in Stockholm or Prague.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins Ruslan Fedotenko jersey as worn by Fedotenko on October 5, 2008 when the Penguins faced the Senators in the second of their two games to open the NHL season in Sweden.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 2008-09 New York Rangers Brandon Dubinsky jersey as worn by Dubinsky on October 4, 2008 when the Rangers faced the Lightning in the first of their two games in Prague to open the NHL season in the Czech Republic when New York won their season opener 2-1 thanks to a Dubinksy game winning goal on a breakaway late in the game.

As is often the case, the Rangers have placed their patches on one of their shoulders owing to their diagonal cresting of "Rangers" interfering with the traditional placement of patches on the upper right chest of their jerseys.

Since 1976, the Rangers have only worn three patches in the classic right chest location, while they have worn two on the left chest. Seven others have been on the left shoulder and 12 on the right shoulder, including the 2008 NHL Premiere patch.

Extra extra bonus jersey: Today's extra extra bonus jersey is a 2008-09 Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson jersey as worn during the first Senators game on October 4, 2008 against Pittsburgh.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's video section begins with highlights of the Rangers vs. the Lightning and their first game in Prague followed by the Senators taking on the Penguins in Stockholm in their first game on October 4, 2008.

Next, the second games between New York and Tampa Bay followed by Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh, both on October 5th.