Division 4th Atlantic 1996–97 record 38–34–10 Road record 17–20–4 | Conference 5th Eastern Home record 21–14–6 Goals for 258 | |
The 1996–97 New York Rangers season was the Rangers' 71st season. The highlight of the season was that it was Wayne Gretzky’s first season in New York.
Contents
The Rangers qualified for the playoffs as the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals where they were defeated by the Philadelphia Flyers. This marked the last playoff appearance for the Rangers until the 2005-06 season.
Regular season
The Rangers had the fewest power-play opportunities during the regular season (287), but the best power-play percentage (21.95%).
Final standings
Divisions: ATL – Atlantic, NE – Northeast
bold – Qualified for playoffs
Playoffs
Key: Win Loss
Player statistics
†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.
Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goalsMin, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;
Draft picks
New York's picks at the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in St. Louis, Missouri at the Kiel Center.