Belt game 3,746 · December 12, 1976
New York Rangers take the belt
New York Rangers beat Montréal Canadiens 5–2 at home to start reign 1,414 of the NHL belt, the 179th for the franchise.
Montréal Canadiens had held it since November 21, 1976, with 8 defenses over 21 days.
New York Rangers held it for 4 days and 1 defense, then lost it to Buffalo Sabres on December 16, 1976.
1,414Reign number
179Team's reign
1Defenses
4Days held
Box score
New York Rangers
| Player | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | HIT | SV | SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Gilbert | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Wayne Dillon | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| Greg Polis | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — |
| Bill Goldsworthy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Don Murdoch | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — |
| Walt Tkaczuk | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Ken Hodge | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Carol Vadnais | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Mike McEwen | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Steve Vickers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Pat Hickey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Pete Stemkowski | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Nick Fotiu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Phil Esposito | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Dave Farrish | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Ron Greschner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Dave Maloney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| John Davidson | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 16 | 18 |
| Gilles Gratton | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 12 | 12 |
Montréal Canadiens
| Player | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | SOG | HIT | SV | SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Risebrough | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Yvon Lambert | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Rejean Houle | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Jimmy Roberts | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Serge Savard | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — |
| Guy Lafleur | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| Murray Wilson | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — |
| Peter Mahovlich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Doug Jarvis | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Steve Shutt | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Bob Gainey | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Jacques Lemaire | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | — |
| Bill Nyrop | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Guy Lapointe | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Larry Robinson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Pierre Bouchard | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Rick Chartraw | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Michel Larocque | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 34 | 39 |
Box scores: the NHL's own game center.