TORONTO — The Rangers did not flinch at their first top-tier opponent on the schedule.
The jump in competition may have been apparent, but it hardly mattered for a Blueshirts team that has resembled a speeding locomotive to start the season.
To remain undefeated in regulation through the first five games, the Rangers took a 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.
Not to diminish the Rangers’ convincing 4-0-1 start to the season, but averaging five goals a game through their first four contests may have been more indicative of the players and goalies on the other side of the ice.
When it came down to needing a more complete game against a more complete opponent, however, the Rangers delivered behind two goals from the top six and a 34-save performance from goalie Igor Shesterkin.
The Maple Leafs, riding a three-game win streak entering the game, counted as the first playoff team from last season the Rangers have faced thus far.
And yet, head coach Peter Laviolette opted to make two personnel changes despite two dominant wins over the Red Wings earlier in the week.
Putting Matt Rempe back in on the fourth line in place of Jonny Brodzinski and sending Chad Ruhwedel out to make his season debut instead of Zac Jones, Laviolette got a good look at his D-pair options with Ryan Lindgren expected to return from injured reserve in the near future.
Laviolette is toying with his lineup and the Rangers are still winning.
That’s a luxury for any team, but especially the Rangers, who are clearly playing the long game.
With Ruhwedel in, the Rangers deployed five right-hand shot defensemen for the first time since a 4-3 loss to the Jets on Feb. 26, 2013. The circumstances were a little different, considering Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto were both hurt.
Saturday night was a coaching decision from Laviolette, who will have an important decision to make regarding his defense corps when Lindgren is healthy.
To keep Victor Mancini, a righty rookie, or not and risk losing Ruhwedel or Jones on waivers on the way to Hartford.
When you’re winning games regardless of personnel, it makes it a lot easier to weigh these options early in the season.
The Rangers didn’t have the puck a lot through the first five minutes of the game, but they recorded the first handful of quality scoring chances and suddenly began to stabilize.
Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz was forced to make a couple big saves, including one on Chris Kreider on the doorstep and Mika Zibanejad’s follow of a rebound. It was at this moment the uptick in competition was abundantly clear.
Still, it wasn’t enough to slow down Alexis Lafreniere.
The 2020 top-overall pick collected a rebound, patiently held onto the puck and then deposited it under Stolarz’s glove to extend his point streak to five games.
Kreider made it a 2-0 game less than halfway through the middle frame, when the longest tenured Ranger buried a slick feed from Zibanejad at the side of the Maple Leafs net.
The Maple Leafs made a significant push in the third period, during which they poured 18 shots on Shesterkin.
Toronto captain Auston Matthews broke through to avoid the shutout, but the equalizer never came before Kreider and Artemi Panarin added empty-netters.
