The Rangers entered Tuesday night’s home game against the Winnipeg Jets undefeated but clearly flawed.
“We are winning games and we are not playing our best,” alternate captain Marc Staal said, despite the Rangers’ outscoring opponents a combined 12-6 through their 3-0-0 start.
Staal’s assessment after Saturday night’s 5-2 win over Columbus at the Garden was as accurate as it was honest. Henrik Lundqvist has been incredible to start the season and the offense has provided outbursts, but overall the Blueshirts’ early record doesn’t reflect their quality of play.
Perhaps that is why coach Alain Vigneault fielded his third different lineup in his team’s fourth game Tuesday night against Winnipeg (2-1-0), which was concluding a back-to-back and vulnerable perhaps on tired legs.