This was one for the team’s psyche and this was one for Henrik Lundqvist’s psyche, which, come to think of it, are pretty much one and the same for the Rangers.
This was one in which a commitment to sustaining a second-effort work ethic over 60 minutes paid off in a 4-1 victory over the Canadiens at the Garden that ended the Blueshirts five-game losing streak (0-4-1), and at least for the moment restored a sense of equilibrium to a team that has been knocked off balance.
“Like I said the other night [after losing 6-2 to the Flyers], the problems with my game haven’t been technical, they’ve been mainly about focus,” said Lundqvist, whose goals-against had soared from 1.82 to 2.41 over the course of his previous 14 starts.
“That’s what happens to a team that’s struggling, and a lot of that starts with the goaltending.
“I have to be sharp and I have to be focused all of the time. I was more aggressive in this game. I played more on my toes.”
If The King was on his toes, so were his teammates, who were relentless in their puck pursuit and puck support.
Indeed, the only times the Rangers found themselves in trouble was when they found themselves on the penalty-kill – which they were eight times for 11:46, including two distinct five-on-three disadvantages in the second for a sum of 2:44.
Unlike Thursday, when the Rangers’ first-period 2-0 edge on the Flyers began to slip away when Philly scored an early second-period five-on-three, the Blueshirts killed both two-man disadvantages last night.
The first (1:03 duration) came early in the period with the Rangers up 2-0 on goals from Chris Drury and Martin Straka; the second (1:41) after Petr Prucha had extended the lead to 3-0.
Drury and Blair Betts alternated as the forwards on the kills while Marek Malik, restored to the lineup as Michal Rozsival’s partner, was on for 2:29 of the combined 2:44 working with both Rozsival and Dan Girardi.
“I thought [Malik] was good and played with the poise he normally does,” said coach Tom Renney.
“He competed as he needs to, and I think with our team, under the circumstances that we put ourselves in, he handled it like a guy who’s been in the league a long time.”
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Speaking of which, Don Meehan, the agent for Curtis Joseph, told The Post that Ranger GM Glen Sather has inquired about the 40-year-old unsigned free-agent goaltender.
Meehan met with the GM here yesterday to begin work on contract extensions for both Lundqvist and Dan Girardi.
“Glen asked about Curtis, but I’m not certain that he’s prepared to move on anything at this moment,” Meehan said during the first intermission.
“I’m not sure with Curtis’ timetable that there’s a lot of time, though, if they are interested in moving forward.”
Joseph, who led Canada to the championship of the international Spengler Cup tournament late last month and who played three seasons for Sather’s Oilers in the mid-’90s, is being aggressively pursued by Calgary.
The Blueshirts’ interest in Cujo – to whatever degree it exists – is not a commentary on Lundqvist’s recent issues. Rather, it reflects interest in bolstering the back-up role that’s been held by Steve Valiquette since last February.
“I’m quite sure Henrik would see that as an attempt to strengthen the team, not as an indication of lack of faith in him,” Meehan said.
“He is not insecure.”
Rangers 4 Canadiens 1