The Rangers ended the regular season in good fashion. Playing for home ice, they shut out the Senators 4-0 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

By defeating the Senators, the Rangers won a franchise record 55th game to finish with a league-leading 114 points. They won the Presidents’ Trophy for the fourth time in franchise history.

Rather than focus on that detail, it’s all about one thing. The playoffs. As nice as it is to have the most points, the ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup. The Rangers deserve all the credit for the season they’ve had.

No one saw it coming. It makes it all the sweeter that they accomplished this under coach Peter Laviolette, who should be a Jack Adams candidate. He’s done a great job. Now comes the hard part. Getting through four grueling rounds. That’s where the heart of a champion is measured.

It’s going to be an exciting time at The Garden. Both the Knicks and Rangers are serious contenders to win a championship. The Knicks will host Game 1 on Saturday, Apr. 20. The Rangers will kick off Game 1 on Sunday at 3 PM. If it’s anything like 1994, we’re in for a great summer.

When’s the last time MSG rocked for both the Knicks and Rangers? It’s been a while. This year has a chance to be special.

The Rangers needed a win to wrap up home ice for the postseason. They came out with a purpose. Facing an opponent that came in playing better down the stretch, they were quicker to the puck early on. It translated to a goal from Jack Roslovic less than six minutes in.

Taking advantage of a Shane Pinto neutral zone turnover, Chris Kreider stole the puck and came in two-on-one with Roslovic. He waited for the Ottawa defenseman to go down before passing across for Roslovic, who went top shelf on Joonas Korpisalo for a 1-0 lead.

Speaking of that line, it was a good night for Mika Zibanejad, Kreider, and Roslovic. For a second consecutive game, they were more noticeable at even strength. If there’s one key to a successful postseason, it’s that that line contributes at five-on-five.

The Senators struggled in the first half of the game with turnovers. Some sloppy play led to the Rangers generating quality chances. However, they were stopped in their tracks by Korpisalo. He made a few big saves to keep his team afloat.

On a play in transition, Alexis Lafreniere tested Korpisalo with a tough wrist shot that the Senators goalie made a good stop on. He would later deny an Artemi Panarin one-timer on an extended shift by the Rangers’ top scoring line.

After a strong start, the Blueshirts allowed the Senators to get back into the game. The Sens used their speed to create some opportunities. Igor Shesterkin made timely saves on Thomas Chabot, Parker Kelly, and Claude Giroux.

Following a stretch when the Senators outshot the Rangers 9-2, Jacob Trouba drew a holding minor penalty on Jiri Smejkal. That put them on the power play with less than two minutes left.

The best chance came with Shesterkin on the bench for a six-on-four with 2.8 seconds remaining. Vincent Trocheck won an offensive faceoff back for a Zibanejad shot that rebounded right to Adam Fox. He was stoned by Korpisalo to end the period.

It was a good gamble by Laviolette. There were less than three seconds left. They were on a power play. Trocheck’s been money on faceoffs. It nearly resulted in a goal. Korpisalo came up with a good save.

For a brief stretch in the second period, the Senators remained in control. Although they didn’t get many shots on Shesterkin, they were the aggressor. Erik Brannstrom was stopped by the Rangers goalie.

The Rangers’ first shot of the period came with over 14 minutes remaining. Lafreniere got a great scoring chance. On a steal by Barclay Goodrow, he came in one on one with Korpisalo, who didn’t bite on his move to shut down his low shot.

Another offensive zone penalty by Kaapo Kakko put the Senators on the power play. He slashed Thomas Chabot to give Ottawa an opportunity to tie the score.

Instead, Shesterkin made three saves during it with a pair coming on Pinto. Following that, the Rangers came in the opposite direction to strike for a beautiful shorthanded goal.

On a good defensive play by Zibanejad, he passed the puck out for Kreider. He then moved the puck to Fox, who passed it back for an attacking Kreider, who made a perfect pass in front for a nifty Fox redirection for a shorthanded goal to make it 2-0.

It was Fox’s career best 17th goal. He has been phenomenal over the last two months. The Rangers couldn’t survive without him patrolling the blue line.

Roslovic was stopped by Korpisalo on another strong shift by the Zibanejad line. It was the best they’ve looked in a while.

On an effective shift, Will Cuylle drove hard to the net after testing Korpisalo. He drew an interference minor on Artem Zub. During the five-on-four, Panarin fired just wide from distance. Knowing he needed two goals for 50, the crowd was amped up. Panarin heard “MVP, MVP!!”, chants. They were well-deserved.

Ottawa killed off the penalty to remain down by two. They also paid attention to Matt Rempe. He didn’t play a ton. But he played his usual honest game. At the end of a shift, he gave Jakob Chychrun a shore, which prompted a cross-check from Chychrun in return.

As far as Bokondji Imama, who challenged Rempe early following a hit on Zack MacEwen, nothing materialized. Interestingly, the two had a friendly chat during warm-ups. Rempe finished with 5:48 of ice time. In the third period, he took a tripping minor on Pinto due to his strength. He’s still learning. If he’s in for the playoffs, it’ll be interesting to see how he handles it.

With something still on the line in the third, the Rangers erased any doubts. Panarin got number 49 less than five minutes in to make it 3-0. Fox moved the puck over for a Ryan Lindgren shot that Panarin tipped in at 4:34.

Under the previous coach, Panarin didn’t score those kinds of goals. He plays much differently under Laviolette, who doesn’t humiliate players by giving them tongue lashings or calling them out to the press. He treats them the way they should be treated.

It’s led to one of the best seasons in Rangers history. Panarin had a goal and assist to finish with 120 points. The second most behind Jaromir Jagr, whose 123 in 2005-06 should’ve been enough to win the Hart Trophy. Nearly two decades later, it’s Panarin being disrespected by media who gush over other stars with better supporting casts.

Panarin picked up point number 120 in classic fashion. Following an Ottawa turnover, he led an odd man rush. After he waited for a Senators player to go down, the crowd wanted him to go for 50. Instead, he made the unselfish play by passing the puck to Erik Gustafsson, who dished across for an easy Lafreniere finish that made it 4-0 with seven minutes left.

It was a nice reward for a player who’s worked hard. Lafreniere was good all game. He got his 28th goal to give him a career high 57 points. Lafreniere began the season by scoring the first goal. He ended it in a similar fashion. Now, it’s onto bigger and better things.

Shortly after, Rempe moved in to finish his check on Pinto with the crowd alive. But he accidentally got his stick into Pinto’s skates to go off for tripping.

The Senators didn’t score. They didn’t have much luck against Shesterkin, who made 26 saves to get his fourth shutout of the season. He looks ready for the playoffs. They’re gonna need him.

Jimmy Vesey actually earned a penalty shot while shorthanded when Ridly Greig hooked him from behind to deny a scoring chance. Vesey moved in on Korpisalo and missed wide on his attempt.

With under three minutes remaining, Cuylle drove hard to the net in search of a rebound. That caused a reaction from both Chychrun and Tkachuk, who gave him a cross-check. Tkachuk went off for two minutes to set up one final shot for Panarin to try for 50.

There was plenty of excitement. Every time he touched the puck, you could feel the energy. Panarin came close on a wrist shot that Korpisalo got a piece of to keep it out. He also had another attempt go wide. Laviolette left him out for the whole power play. He was exhausted at the end and took a clean hit from Tkachuk before finally going to the bench.

When the buzzer sounded, there were plenty of cheers from an appreciative crowd who saluted their heroes. It was a nice ending to a fantastic regular season.

The next chapter doesn’t begin until Sunday on 4/20. Hopefully, the Rangers can make it a memorable one.