New York Rangers : Why the Blueshirts Will Not Finish Atop the NHL This Season

The New York Rangers have played incredible hockey leading into the All-Star break, but history tells us that they will not finish the 2011-2012 season with the NHL's best record.

After tonight's 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets, New York is on pace to finish with the most points in the National Hockey League.

The Rangers have earned 66 points in 47 games, putting them on pace to end the regular season with 115 points. Detroit has 67 points but is earning fewer points per game, as they have played 49 contests. The Red Wings are on pace to finish with 112 points.

That said, the Rangers have only scored 132 goals this season. This puts them on pace to score 230 goals by the end of the year.

I love the Blueshirts as much as anybody, but taking a look at the history of the NHL makes their possible outcomes look bleak.

The last time a team scored 230 goals or fewer in a 70-game (or more) season and finished with the most points was when Detroit scored 224 goals in the 1964-1965 season. This was a 70-game season when the league was still simply the Original Six (Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York and Detroit).

This means that the 1964-1965 Red Wings team scored 3.2 goals per game.

This year's New York Rangers have scored only 2.8.

The last team to score 2.8 goals per game or less and win the league was the 1953-1954 Red Wings, who scored 2.72 goals per game on their way to a title.

During the last three years, the team to earn the most points during the regular season has scored an average of 279 goals. In order to reach this number, the Rangers would have to score 4.2 goals per game for the rest of this season.

Teams scoring 225-235 goals during the same three-year span have finished with an average of only 90.5 points.

The great work put in by the Rangers defense, particularly the goaltenders, should not be discounted. They have allowed only 96 goals, which averages to just more than two per game. They are on pace to allow only 167 goals this season, which is better than every top-finishing team since the 1999-2000 St. Louis Blues, who allowed only 165.

Unfortunately, because the Rangers' goals allowed rate is so incredible, it's likely to come back to earth. New York has been outshot in 25 games and have outshot opponents in only 20 games. This is some cause for concern, especially if the scoring production does not increase.

With all of this said, the New York Rangers have found many ways to earn points this season, and if they continue at the rate they are going, they will finish with the most points in the NHL. History, however, tells us that they will probably not.