They knew they had to be better, so they were. Is it that easy?
The Rangers dusted off some early-season malaise and pasted the Sharks with a 4-0 win on Monday night at the Garden. The win ended the Blueshirts three-game losing streak and showed a bit of necessary haste that had been lacking when they scored just two goals in their previous three games.
They were also tight defensively, supported by new backup goalie Antti Raanta, impressive while making 22 saves in his team debut. Raanta also joined a bit of Rangers’ (ancient) history, becoming the first goalie in franchise history to record a shutout in his first game with the team since Marcel Paille in 1957-58, per the Elias Sports Bureau.