I still get migraines thinking about it but we fans sometimes can't shake disasters from our heads, can we? For The Maven's money, the absolute, very awful thing that ever befell the Blueshirts took place more than a half-century ago. To be exact, 1962 when I was covering the Rangers for The Hockey News. That was the season when ex-Hab Hall of Fame defenseman Doug Harvey came to New York to be the Rangers player-coach; and what a superb job he did. Harvey wasn't good, he was sensational, winning the Norris Trophy as the league's best blueliner but, more importantly, he guided the New Yorkers to their first playoff berth since 1958; and did it while doing double-duty – on the ice and on the bench. "Pushing his team into the playoffs was quite a feat," said Ben Olan, who covered the Rangers for The Associated Press. "Then Doug did even better when they opened the first playoff round against the Leafs." Stan Fischler US Hall Of Fame MSG After losing the first two games to Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens, Harvey promoted a bright, young right wing from the minors who became an instant star. Rod Gilbert was put on a line with Rangers "Ironman" Johnny Wilson and the Blueshirts took off. They won Games Three and Four at home whereupon they headed North with dreams of the Stanley Cup Final dancing in their heads. And for a while the dream seemed within grasp of reality. With the home crowd rooting against them, Harvey's team still managed to stay even at 2-2 by the end of regulation time. "We were getting great goaltending from Gump Worsley," said captain Andy Bathgate, "and that gave us hope." But Johnny Bower – a former Ranger – was doing as well at the other end, which meant that this was anyone's ball game. By the end of the first OT, Worsley had made over 50 saves for New York but nobody had broken the tie and now the melodrama moved into its final scene, the second sudden-death period. Just past the three minute mark, Bathgate tried a long pass to teammate Camille Henry. But the puck hit the skate of Toronto's Red Kelly, bounced high in the air and landed in front of Red's left wing Frank (Big M) Mahovlich. "I moved right into the Rangers zone and took a shot," said Big M. Worsley made the save with his left shoulder but couldn't control the rebound and then Red Kelly took a whack at it. The puck fell to the crease and Gump fell back with his neck covering the puck. Worsley waited for referee Eddie Powers to call an end to play. So did every single Rangers fan in North America and points East. "I thought I had smothered the puck long enough for a whistle," lamented Worsley who now had made 56 saves. "So, I lifted my head and that's where the puck was, under my head." As bad Rangers luck would have it, Kelly had reached the edge of the crease as "The Long Count" still had not produced a whistle. Kelly: "Gump moved a little and the puck squirted loose so I poked it in!" The goal counted. Toronto took a three-two series lead and then eliminated New York in Game Six. BOTTOM LINE: Powers never blew his whistle but he blew the Rangers Cup chances. Kelly's Leafs went to the Cup Final and beat Chicago for Stanley. BOTTOM LINE 2. Powers later told Harvey that he saw "some of the puck." To which Harvey pointed out that the "rules say the entire puck must be in view for play to continue." BOTTOM LINE 3: As far as The Maven is concerned that "Long Count" episode was the worst thing that ever happened to the Rangers in a playoff game! That's right to this day – 62 years later – it still hurts. A lot! Also From THN Rangers: https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/tony-deangelo-details-altercation-that-got-him-waived-from-rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/tony-deangelo-details-altercation-that-got-him-waived-from-rangers] https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/the-replacement-for-sam-rosen-already-is-firmly-in-place [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/the-replacement-for-sam-rosen-already-is-firmly-in-place] https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/rangers-and-knicks-playoff-success-lead-to-historic-financial-numbers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/rangers-and-knicks-playoff-success-lead-to-historic-financial-numbers] https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/its-time-for-a-new-generation-of-rangers-players-to-take-over [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers/latest-news/its-time-for-a-new-generation-of-rangers-players-to-take-over]
