Brad Penner-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/735a4d34-a225-4be6-aaba-245e0793b134.jpeg] Brad Penner-Imagn Images The headline in the New York Post said it all: HOW RANGERS STAR'S 'THINK LESS' MENTALITY HAS PAID OFF IN IMPRESSIVE BOUNCE BACK SEASON. Columnist and Rangers beat writer Mollie Walker went on to note that the 2024-2025 season "was the most taxing campaign of Mika Zibanejad's career." Which it certainly was and this term The Magic Z "has more than bounced back." When Mollie's pointed out that Mika's "think less" mentality was the perfect slumpbuster it awakened The Maven's coffee-needing brain. I harked back to an episode more than six decades ago when a Rangers stalwart told me virtually the same thing. Only in my case, the player in question was Hall of Fame defenseman Doug Harvey. This was the 1961-62 season following three straight years (1959, 1960, 1961) during which the Blueshirts had missed the playoffs. It was then that Rangers GM Muzz Patrick pulled off a deal with the Montreal Canadiens, obtaining Harvey and defenseman Al (Junior) Langlois from the Habs. Part of the deal was that Doug would double as a full-time player coach; which was unheard of at that time. Like Zibanejad, Harvey had slumped during the 1960-61 season and the feeling was that his best days were gone. Now he was expected to get the Blueshirts back into the postseason – as defenseman plus head coach; and at a time when no team even owned an assistant coach. Reliving The First Rangers-Isles Meeting [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f77c1081-cc1c-4516-9408-ed5c413bd775.jpeg] Reliving The First Rangers-Isles Meeting It's a long way from the 1972-73 season and I wonder how many fans attending tonight's game in Elmont recall the first <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/">Rangers</a>-Islanders clash of all-time. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/reliving-the-first-rangers-isles-meeting] Amazingly, Doug starred on defense – he'd wind up winning the Norris Trophy – and put the New Yorkers back on the winning (Playoffs) track. What's my point? In midseason Harvey and I had dinner at Al Muller's restaurant on 50th Street across from the old Garden. "So Doug," I asked, "what's the secret – your secret – for playing great defense." He put down his beer – thought for a second – and then shot back the magic words: "DON'T THINK!"
