Slow-starting Rangers find way to get it going late

After 20 minutes, the Rangers had been outshot 15-3 overall and out-attempted 25-9 at five-onfive. Through 28:34, the shots were 23-4 for Carolina in what was a 1-1 match at the Garden.

Do you need to know that in the six immediately preceding games, the Blueshirts had compiled just 40.9 percent of fullstrength shots (257 against, 178 for) to understand just how disturbing the trend had become of the team spending no appreciable time in the offensive zone?

This time, though, the Rangers were able to turn it around, finally getting their legs, transition and ground games going in this aesthetically unpleasing, 4-2 victory, scoring three times in the third period while outshooting the Candy Canes 12-3 overall and out-attempting them 16-9 at full strength.

“I think we were all pretty frustrated with our start. There’s nobody to blame but ourselves,” Ryan McDonagh said. “We talked about putting aside the first 40 minutes and putting together one period to give ourselves the two points, and that’s what we did.

“We got to moving our feet, battling for picks, were a little more engaged and quite simply put more pucks on the net. We weren’t doing enough of that the first two periods, and it made a difference when we got a rebound goal in front.”

That was the 3-2 goal scored by Chris Kreider at 12:25 of the third. The winger swept in for the first of his two to beat a sprawling Michael Leighton after Derek Stepan’s rebound of Dan Girardi’s right point drive hit the post. Stepan, who had his best game of the year by leaps and bounds (though clearing a low bar), had scored the Blueshirts’ opening goal at 4:05 of the first on a backhand rebound of his own first shot.

The Rangers blocked 21 shots, including four by J.T. Miller, who has been a puck magnet on the defensive side for the last week. Miller, who played on a unit with Josh Jooris and Matt Puempel, got only one shift in the final 7:58 as Alain Vigneault cut down to three lines.