In the 2011–12 season, the Rangers finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Going 51–24–7, the team finished with 109 points for the regular season. Their leading scorer for the regular season was Marian Gaborik, who finished the season with 41 goals and 76 points while playing all 82 games. However, the Rangers missed-out on the Presidents' Trophy on the final day of the season to the Vancouver Canucks after a 4–1 loss to Washington. In the first round of the playoffs, the Rangers faced the eighth-seeded Ottawa Senators. After falling behind 3–2 in the series, the Rangers bounced back to win Game 6 in Ottawa, as well as the deciding Game 7 at home, propelling them to the Conference Semi-finals. In the Semi-finals, the Rangers faced the Capitals. In Game 3, Gaborik received a pass from Brad Richards to seal a victory 14:41 into the third overtime, giving the Rangers a 2–1 lead in the series. Washington then came back to tie the series 2–2 in Game 4. The Rangers avoided going down 3–2 in the series when Richards tied Game 5 at 2–2 with just 6.6 seconds left in the third period. The goal was scored on a power-play as a result of a high-sticking double-minor committed by Washington's Joel Ward on Rangers' forward Carl Hagelin. Then, in overtime, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal scored on the second penalty of the double-minor just 1:35 into overtime, giving the Rangers a 3–2 series lead. The Rangers went on to win the series 4–3, sending them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1997. In the Conference Finals, they faced the New Jersey Devils, a major divisional rival. After leading the series 2–1, the Rangers lost three games in a row, losing Game 6 in New Jersey with a goal by Devils forward Adam Henrique at 1:03 in overtime, giving the Devils a 4–2 series win and ending the Rangers' season.