David Quinn’s objective for the Rangers this weekend was to put Thursday’s loss to the Islanders behind them and start a new winning streak.
“Everybody’s going to lose hockey games,’’ the first-year Rangers coach said Saturday, before his team hosted the Florida Panthers at the Garden. “The key is, what do you do after you lose? Do you have the mental toughness and wherewithal to stop it, or are you going to let it snowball?’’
They didn’t. Henrik Lundqvist, pulled Thursday after two periods, was brilliant in goal, making 39 saves, and goals from red-hot rookie Filip Chytil and defenseman Brendan Smith, who was returning to the lineup after a three-game absence, had big goals to lead the Rangers to a 4-2 win over the Panthers Saturday that was their 10th win of the season (10-8-2) and seventh in the last nine games (7-1-1).