The Rangers knew it was not going to be easy on Wednesday night.
They were on the wrong end of a back-to-back that had them get home from Chicago at 3 a.m.
They were facing one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the NHL in the Avalanche.
And they were starting a goaltender making his NHL debut by way of Slovakia and the University of Connecticut named Adam Huska, whom coach Gerard Gallant inserted to give Alexandar Georgiev a blow.
Huska not only was a recent callup from Hartford of the AHL but had been a backup there to Farmingville native Keith Kinkaid.