ESPN CONFIRM TRADE” incredible And Multiple Trade” New York Rangers Acquired Outstanding Huge Star To

If you are a Rangers fan, you probably already had an inner sense that this is one of the greatest regular seasons in team history, and you might also have a sense that it’s one of the best regular seasons anyone in New York has ever had.

And here’s the thing:

You’re right.

Thanks to some deep-diving by a terrific Post reader named Jim Berman, we can safely say all of that is true. After the Rangers beat the Red Wings, 4-3, in Detroit on Friday night, their record sits at 52-21-4 and their points percentage sits at .701.

In the unique math of the NHL, points percentage is as close as we can come to winning percentage, and the Rangers — in business since 1926 — have never had a points percentage higher than 70 percent.

They came close twice. In both 1970-71 (49-18-11) and ’71-’72 (48-17-13) they finished at .699. Even the three Rangers teams who’ve won the Presidents’ Trophy since it was created in 1986 didn’t get there — the 1991-92 team going 50-25-5 (.656), the ’93-’94 team going 52-24-8 (.667) and the 2014-15 squad finishing at 53-22-7 (.689).

And when you cast the net wide, it makes you appreciate that number even more.

Baseball
The Yankees, not surprisingly, are the New York team that’s reached .700 the most (excluding football) — having done it in 1927 (110-44, .714), 1939 (106-45, .702) and 1998 (114-48, .704). Even less surprisingly, all three of those Yankees teams won the World Series, and did so by sweeping in four games the Pirates, Reds and Padres.

The Giants only did it one time in the 65 years they occupied upper Manhattan, in 1885 (85-27, .759) — and, remarkably, that was only good for second place in the National League, two games back of the Chicago White Stockings (and for 139 years, Giants fans have lamented “If only there were a wild card…”). The Dodgers won 13 pennants in the 64 years they played in Brooklyn, beginning in 1884; the closest they came was 1899 (101-47, .682) and 1953 (105-49, .682).

And maybe as a testament to just how difficult a task it is, even the ’86 Mets — besides the ’98 Yankees, the most dominant team New York has seen since World War II — fell well short by only winning two-thirds of their games (108-54, .667).

The Islanders won four Stanley Cups from 1980-83, but only the 1981-82 team among those four champions topped .700, and in fact their points/winning percentage (.738, off a 54-16-10 record) is the highest of any New York team in history after 1901. After early scares from the Penguins (where they needed a miracle Game 5 comeback) and the Rangers (whom they ultimately beat in six), they went 8-0 over the Nordiques and Canucks to cap their third Cup. Interestingly, the Islanders also reached .700 in 1979 (51-15-14, .725) before famously getting stunned in the conference finals by the Rangers.

The Devils have won three Cups and been in two other Cup finals, but the closest they ever came was last year (52-22-8, .683). And neither the old New York Americans of the NHL nor the New York Raiders/Golden Blades of the WHA ever came close.

Basketball
The Knicks have done it just twice since they opened for business in 1946. Not surprisingly, the fabled 1969-70 team went 60-22 (.732) before settling for a winning percentage of .631 in the playoffs in winning their first title. The 1992-93 Knicks matched them (60-22, .732) but wound up losing in six to the Bulls in the conference finals.

The Nets have never done it, though the 1974-75 team led by Dr. J went 58-26 (.690) before being upset by the Spirts of St. Louis in the ABA Eastern semifinals.

in their 99 years. In the Super Bowl era they’ve done it five times — 1986 (14-2), 1989 (12-4), 1990 (13-3), 2000 (12-4) and 2008 (12-4) — and the Jets have done it three times — 1968 (11-3), 1969 (10-4) and 1998 (12-4).

Vac’s whacks
I grew up hearing story after story about Honey Russell, Walter Dukes, Richie Regan and the rest of the 1953 Seton Hall Pirates from my buddy’s pop, Bill Hammersley, who also played on that NIT champion. So seeing the Pirates bring a bookend trophy back to the Walsh Gym was just a cool thing to see.

And on that subject: The video of Shaheen Holloway consoling Indiana State’s Robbie Avila after that game and telling him to “keep his chin up” just reaffirms that Holloway is every bit the person that he is a coach. And he’s a damned fine coach.