Walt Tkaczuk (#18) of the New York Rangers (Photo by Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Images)
What happened on April 5 in the history of the New York Rangers
On this date in 1970, the New York Rangers played the craziest game in their history. They beat the Detroit Red Wings 9-5 to make the playoffs, eliminating the Montreal Canadiens. In an effort to score as many goals as possible, the Rangers set a franchise record with 65 shots on goal and even pulled their goalie in the third period with a six goal lead.
The reason was that the Rangers had to win and if Montreal lost and they finished in a tie for fourth place, they had to finish with more goals than the Canadiens.