The New York Rangers' franchise has been blessed with legendary goaltending throughout its 100 year history, and in 1955-56 they had a netminder who set a record that may never be broken. Interestingly enough, Lorne "Gump" Worsley almost bested his record seven years later, and just fell short because he didn't appear in as many games in 1962-63 as he did during the campaign in which he was a Hart Trophy finalist.
Worsley started his career in 1952-53, and the Blueshirts' netminder was awarded the Calder Trophy as top rookie. He went on to lead the league in losses the following season, but a year later he turned his game around and set a record in the process.
Worsley's single-season save record may be impossible to break
Worsley appeared in 70 games during the 1955-56 campaign, and he finished with a record of 32-29-10. He faced 2,574 shots and made a record 2,376 saves which resulted in him posting a .923 save percentage. Over those 70 games the Rangers netminder was on the ice for 4,197 minutes and 30 seconds, and that's a workload that won't be matched in the modern game.
Worsley came close to surpassing his established record seven years later, and posted a record of 22-34-10 while making 2,306 saves in 67 games. His save percentage was just .914 that year, down from the .923 mark he had in his MVP finalist season.
Worsley left Rangers and became a champion and Hall of Famer
That season would be his last with the Rangers, and he next played for the Montreal Canadiens. He won the Stanley Cup in 1964-64, 1965-66, 1967-68, and 1968-69, and took home the Vezina as top goalie during the 65-66 and 67-68 campaigns.
When all was said and done, Worsley retired with a record of 333-348-149 in 860 regular season games and posted a .914 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average with 43 shutouts. He faced 23,836 shots and made 21,784 saves. Shots on goal and save statistics started being tracked in 1955-56, so there are two seasons of his career in which save data is unavailable.
His number may never be retired by the Rangers, but he will always be linked to the franchise in the NHL's record book.
The best chance at breaking record came over 20 years ago
Roberto Luongo is the modern goalie that's come the closest to besting Worsley's record, and he finished with 2,303 saves during the 2003-04 season after appearing in 72 of 82 games for the Florida Panthers. The very next season he appeared in 75 games, and made 2,275 saves. Those two performances feels like the closest anyone will ever get.
If there is a goalie who finds themselves in a position to beat his record, odds are that team didn't really like or trust the backup. That or the team was really bad with a porous defense that made life for the starter very miserable.