From The Hockey News Volume 45, Issue 29 (April 10th, 1992).
By Al Morganti Senior Writer
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The roar at Madison Square Garden began Oct. 7 and, through the next six months, it did not stop. In fact, that roar which began with the dramatic introduction of captain Mark Messier in the home opener grew louder as the New York Rangers cruised toward what has to be the most satisfying regular season in their history.
For the first time since 1941-42, the Rangers will finish the regular season with more points than any team in the NHL.
They won the Patrick Division for only the second time. With two games remaining—one at home and one on the road—they had already tied club records for most victories (49) and most wins on the road (22).
Messier’s 106 point-total was just three shy of the team record set by Jean Ratelle in 1971-72.
Meanwhile, defenseman Brian Leetch had time to improve on his club record for defensemen with 96 points and become only the fifth defenseman in NHL history to reach the 100-point level. Leetch also set a club record with 76 assists, most power-play goals by a defenseman with 10; the longest consecutive point-scoring streak at 16 games; and the longest consecutive assist streak at nine games.
And as the season headed toward its finale, Messier appeared to be a shoo-in as the NHL’s most valuable player, with Leetch a leading candidate for the Norris Trophy and Tony Amonte one of the top three candidates for the Calder.
Along the way, Mike Gartner made milestone pit stops for his 1,000th game played; 1,000th point, 500th goal, and 500th assist.
That’s a full agenda of accomplishments, all topped off by having the best regular season of any NHL club.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Messier said. “There are a lot of things to achieve over the regular season…but the ultimate goal is the Stanley Cup.”
Granted, winning the regular-season title for the first time in 50 years is not like ending the haunting stretch of 52 years since they last won a Stanley Cup. But an exorcism is performed step by step, and winning the President’s Trophy certainly cast aside the demons of doubt the Rangers are the best team in the NHL. Now, the team and its fans are just praying the threatened walkout doesn’t stand in the way of putting their “curse” to bed once and for all.
In some cases, you might be able to argue that a regular-season championship is a hollow title, but not on this occasion. There have been a number of teams which have accumulated more points, teams which have had far longer winning streaks and unbeaten stretches, and quite a few teams which have put a larger distance between themselves and their closest challengers.
But none of those teams have had to deal with the passion play of doom which is known as New York Rangers hockey. None of those teams had to perform through 40 games on the Broadway stage in Madison Square Garden. And while acquiring a Messiah named Messier has been a tremendous help, it has also added immensely to the pressure to win the Stanley Cup.
“We have achieved the first step on the ladder,” said goalie Mike Richter when the Rangers clinched the Patrick Division title with a victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in their 75th game. “And for right now, that’s the best we could have done.”
The Rangers were awarded the next step when the Vancouver Canucks lost a game, assuring them the best overall record.
“I’ve sort of been the guy in the right place at the right time,” said Randy Gilhen who landed on his feet with the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring, and similarly found his way to the Garden party this year. “I remember last season, the Rangers started struggling a little bit and we (the Penguins) started going good. There was a point where we started to feel that (a championship) was meant to be.
“Here in New York we started to get the same feeling about the regular season, about the divisional championship, but we’ve also got bigger plans in mind.”
They hope those bigger plans will be played out in the playoffs, after which the real reviews of the New York Rangers 1991-92 season will be released.