"Here's a guy coming down the ice, one of the best players in the league, Greschner told amNewYork he was thinking at the time. My first game, he's going to go around me. I'll be back in the minors tomorrow, and I'll be retired on the fifth of November."
"[Perreault] lost the puck in the water, Greschner said. I carried the puck the other way. I looked like a hero. It was the start of a legendary Rangers career."
"I'm not even sure magical is a good enough word for it, Greschner said about the Rangers' 1979 run to the Stanley Cup Final. The crowds at the Garden were the loudest he'd ever heard. New York swept the Los Angeles Kings in the Preliminary Round, then dispatched the Philadelphia Flyers in the quarterfinals in five games, outscoring them 28-8. The Rangers then beat the New York Islanders in six games to advance to the Final. The city started to rumble, Greschner recalled. Wherever you went, you got free food, free booze, and what else would you want? After we beat the Islanders out, I used to come home. There'd be like 15-20 bottles of champagne in my lobby of my building. The whole city was crazy."
Ron Greschner debuted with the New York Rangers after being called up on Oct. 30, 1974, practiced Nov. 1, and played his first NHL game Nov. 3 against the Buffalo Sabres. He replaced Brad Park on defense and faced Gilbert Perreault, fearing a quick return to the minors after a poor first impression. Poor ice at Madison Square Garden helped when Perreault lost the puck and Greschner carried it the other way. Greschner played 981 NHL games, all with the Rangers, amassed 1,226 penalty minutes, ranks second in goals by a Rangers defenseman, and took part in deep playoff runs in 1979, 1981, and 1986 that energized the city.
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