The Rangers came within one puck of a Stanley Cup in 1949-50 playoffs, emerging as "The Cinderella Team Of Spring."
During the 1949-50 playoffs, the Rangers emerged as "The Cinderella Team Of Spring."
Although they finished the season under the .500 mark they squeezed into the playoffs. Once in the postseason they graduated from the mediocre to the magical.
In the opening round, they upset the mighty Montreal Canadiens, four games to one.
Because the Circus had come to the old Garden on Eighth Avenue, the Blueshirts were bopped out of all home games in the Cup Final against Detroit. Actually, the league granted them two "home" games at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
Despite these setbacks the Rangers -- brilliantly coached by Lynn Patrick -- took Detroit to a seventh game and overtime. Now here's where the mystery comes into play.
In the first sudden-death period, New York nearly won The Stanley Cup. A Ranger slipped through the Detroit defense and beat Red Wings goalie Harry Lumley.
Alas! The puck hit the post and play continued. An inch here or there and it would have been a goal and New York's fourth Stanley Cup.
To this day there's total confusion about who shot the puck that hit the post. Since there was no video reply 74 years ago, we have no idea about the possible clincher.
More confusing is that -- over the years -- The Maven has been given different names from otherwise reliable hockey folks.
Don (Bones) Raleigh, who did score two OT goals for New York, often has been mentioned.
Then again, so has Dunc Fisher as well as the name of Jack McLeod.
About 25 years ago, I interviewed defenseman Pat Egan on camera at his son's home in New Jersey. This is what he told me:
"I broke away on a two-on-one and beat Lumley but I hit the post and the puck went to the right. I was about to knock in the rebound when the goalie beat me to it and whacked the puck into the corner."
Take your pick: Raleigh, Fisher, McLeod or Egan.
We'll never know exactly, and the 74 year mystery remains just that!
What we do know is that Detroit's Pete Babando beat Rangers goalie Chuck Rayner in the second OT for the Stanley Cup.
Or, as William Shakespeare put it: There's much virtue in if.