This may not be technically a race due to the playoff spot that could lead to the final day of the season. It only happened five times in Blueshirts' 99 season history.
Let's take a look at the previous five:
2010-11: The Rangers entered the final day of the season when they needed to score points at Carolina to secure the final playoff spot after taking a seven-point lead in two weeks. Tied up with Carolina, Bruce Hart defeated the demon in the yard on a Saturday afternoon, but needed lightning to defeat the wand in Raleigh that night. The call between bluesshirt head coach John Tortorella and Tampa Bay winger Marty St. Louis could have followed before the Lightning's 6-1 victory placed the Rangers in the playoffs.
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2009-10: The Bluesshirt set up a showdown of what to do in Philadelphia on the final day of the season, earning his final Eastern playoff spot following a 4-3 defeat in the yard two nights before extending his final season stretch to 7-1-1. Jodie Shelley scored ahead at 3:27 of the first period with a 1-0 lead in Game 82, but the Rangers didn't beat Brian Boucher again. Henrik Lundqvist had his team watched 30-13 in the first two periods, but brought a goal tied to Matt Carl on the power play at the third at 6:54. Danny Briere scored in the first shootout round, with Pasa tied it in round two, and Claude Guiro scored on a slap shot, giving the Flyers an edge before Oli Jokinen skated the circle and skating circle and skating circle…
