NHL

Rangers roll past East-leading Penguins

This might not have been the clearest night for a declaration of who the Rangers will be. But it certainly said a lot about who they are not.

They are no longer the team that started this season not knowing how to take advantage of defensive lapses, the team that looked defensively lost in the face of high-powered offenses. All of that nonsense was left in the past on Wednesday night at the Garden, when the Rangers beat the East-leading Penguins, 5-1, allowing that early-season dysfunction to be of a seemingly bygone era.

“It’s always fun when you get a chance to play against really good teams and measure yourself, where we are as a team and a group, ” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who made 12 of his 28 saves in the first period, some of them spectacular, to allow his Rangers to settle in without a deficit. “The last two games, we played really well. We didn’t get the result we wanted the other night [a 2-1 loss to the Ducks on Monday], but we did a lot of good things. Tonight, we got rewarded.”

The reward was more than just this one game, and more than just the fact the Rangers (7-8-0) have now won five of their last seven. It’s how they have gone about doing it, this one in particular by playing creatively in the offensive zone and poised in the defensive zone. The Penguins (11-5-0) came in on a four-game winning streak and are certainly not going to sneak up on anyone with their talent. But the Rangers kept Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Co. mostly in check, the only blemish being a Kris Letang power-play stuff-in when the Blueshirts already held a 3-0 advantage late in the second period.

“I think we made them defend,” said Ryan McDonagh, answering coach Alain Vigenault’s call for more offense from the back end when he opened the scoring in the waning minutes of the first period. “I think we’re playing hockey a little bit more and playing to each other’s strengths.”

McDonagh’s goal was only able to open the scoring because for the first 13 minutes, it was Lundqvist holding the Penguins off the board, not allowing their 10-2 shot advantage to translate to the scoreboard.

“That’s what you need from your goaltender,” Vigneault said. “They’re an elite team. If they score there, that gives them momentum and puts us on our heels a little bit. But he makes some unreal saves and our guys feel real confident and we go from there.”

It was Derek Stepan who followed McDonagh, netting a rising wrist shot off a wonderful touch pass from Mats Zuccarello, giving the Rangers a 2-0 lead with under a minute to play in the first. To open the second, Brian Boyle got his first of the season on a low wrist shot, and after Letang’s goal, it was captain Ryan Callahan being the last to touch a double-deflection, beating Marc-Andre Fleury high glove side for a 4-1 lead.

“Everyone contributed right through the lineup,” Callahan said. “That’s what you need when you’re playing one of the top teams in the league.”

When Derick Brassard ended the evening’s proceedings with a tap-in goal midway through the third, the Rangers already knew it was on to Columbus, another step in trying to find consistency.

“We have to focus on ourselves,” Lundqvist said. “As long as we take care of our business here, we’re going to be in good shape. I think that’s our mindset, the whole year.”