You know what was most special about the Rangers’ 5-0 victory over the Islanders at the Garden on Thanksgiving Eve? The fact that it somehow seemed routine even while it represented the Blueshirts’ first victory in nine games (1-7-1) in the Battle of the Hudson and second in 14 (2-10-2) since the start of 2015-16.
The Rangers not only expect to win, they appear to have become accustomed to it. Not that they take it for granted, because they don’t. They understand that a team only gets out of a game what it is willing to put into it.