The New York Rangers played their first game in Madison Square Garden on November 16, 1926. The hockey team had been formed by Tex Rickard, the stadium’s owner, who thought that the novel new game might draw crowds of interested New Yorkers. It was resoundingly popular and the new team stayed. The Rangers came into their own in the 1990s and had the good fortune to sign both Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky, two of hockey’s greatest players.