The Rangers keep winning hockey games. The recipe continues to be the same. Strong goaltending has carried them to nine wins in their first thirteen games. On Saturday night, it was Jonathan Quick who stopped all 37 shots to highlight a 4-0 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. His brilliance in the net allowed him to record the 61st shutout of his career – tying Turk Broda for 18th on the all-time list. He’s three shy of tying Henrik Lundqvist (64).

It might have helped that they faced one of the league’s worst offenses. Detroit entered the game ranked 29th. After getting shutout, they now sit 30th out of 32 teams in goals per game (2.43) through Saturday, Nov. 9. The Red Wings also rank 30th in five-on-five goals with only 18.

Facing a defense that continues to struggle, they generated plenty of scoring chances in the first two periods. The Rangers gave up 12 high danger chances over the first 40 minutes according to Natural Stat Trick. It didn’t matter. Quick was there to bail out his teammates. He was on his game.

In his third start of the season and second versus the Red Wings, he turned them away repeatedly. In fact, he was at his best during the second period when Detroit fired away. He stopped all 19 shots, including seven high danger chances. When he wasn’t making acrobatic saves, the Red Wings were either missing the net or getting their shots blocked. As a team, they blocked 20 led by captain Jacob Trouba (7). It was a tough night for Trouba and defensive partner K’Andre Miller. They were hemmed in a lot. They were far from alone.

The Rangers had all sorts of trouble with Detroit’s speed. Almost immediately, Alex DeBrincat got an open shot right on Quick. In fact, the Red Wings got the game’s first three shots without much resistance. Patrick Kane also had a dangerous attempt go high and wide. Miller and Trouba were on for that shift. It wasn’t a strong night for Vincent Trocheck. Mika Zibanejad was no better. At least he finally recorded an even strength point, assisting on an Artemi Panarin goal late in the second period. Panarin scored his team-leading 10th from a near impossible angle. He remains the one constant. The Bread Man had a goal and assist in the victory.

There wasn’t a lot happening early on. The Rangers seemed to be a half step behind again. With Quick sharp, that allowed them to do what they do best. Take advantage of special teams. After Zibanejad drew a tripping minor on Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson, it took them only seven seconds to convert on the power play. On a set play, Panarin got the puck over for Adam Fox, who had his shot pass tipped in by Chris Kreider for his eighth of the season with 6:47 remaining. When Edvinsson left Kreider to shift over to Zibanejad, Ben Chiarot didn’t switch. That left Kreider to again burn another opponent with his great hand-eye coordination. Nobody is better at redirecting pucks for goals than him.

After failing to capitalize on a second man-advantage, they survived a couple of more Detroit opportunities. Marco Kasper’s tying bid was denied by Quick in the final minute to preserve a one-goal lead to the locker room.

The second was so lopsided, it made you wonder how the Red Wings didn’t break through. They either couldn’t or wouldn’t. If you watched each shift, it looked like an extended power play for the Winged Wheel. Leading scorer Lucas Raymond just missed on the opening shift. He has only one goal in the Red Wings’ first 14 games. Of course, that would happen the year I took him in our fantasy hockey league. After watching Detroit closely, I now understand why he isn’t scoring. At least he leads them in assists (12) and points (13).

For most of the period, the Red Wings applied so much pressure that it looked like it was a matter of time before they tied the game. On one extended shift, Mo Seider missed wide. With Zibanejad in no man’s land after failing to get the puck out, Edvinsson was all set up. But he didn’t get all of his shot, allowing Quick to make the clutch stop. He’d later shut the door on Vladimir Tarasenko. Talk about a declining player. He came in with only two goals. What’s happened to him? He still is five goals shy of 300. A player with his talent should be approaching 400 by now.

In between Quick making big save after big save, both teams were sloppy. There were a lot of turnovers. Each side finished with 20 giveaways. If anything was indicative of how bad the game was, Trocheck led all skaters with five. Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin had four. If they play similarly on Tuesday against the NHL best Winnipeg Jets, it’ll be a long night. The Jets improved to 14-1 by defeating the Stars 4-1 yesterday.

Detroit’s best opportunity came on the power play. With Ryan Lindgren off for high-sticking Christian Fischer, they kept the puck in for the entirety. That led to some excellent chances. After he stopped Raymond, Quick made big saves on Kane and Larkin. With the penalty killers tiring, Larkin was left alone in the right circle when he fired a pea that rang off the far goalpost. That close to tying it.

As usually happens when a team can’t score at one end, they get burned. DeBrincat was turned away on another point-blank chance at five-on-five. Quick also stopped Raymond again. He was the story. In three starts (all wins), he’s made 98 saves on 101 shots. If you include a relief appearance for Igor Shesterkin when he stopped nine of 10 shots against the Sabres, Quick has a miniscule 1.17 goals-against average (GAA), and .964 save percentage. He’s the best backup in the league for a reason.

Following all the near misses by the Red Wings, the Rangers got huge insurance from the fourth line. After a good offensive shift from the third line, Zac Jones pinched down to keep the play moving. He got the puck behind the net to Sam Carrick, who centered in front for an easy Jimmy Vesey finish past Ville Husso. That made it 2-0 with 3:08 left. It was Vesey’s first of the season. Since returning to the lineup, Jones continues to excel. He’s proving that he belongs. Coach Peter Laviolette has expanded his role to include manning the point on the second power play unit. It’s well deserved.

On the next shift, Zibanejad finally did something at five-on-five. On a forecheck, Alexis Lafreniere got the puck over to Zibanejad behind the net. He made a great feed across for an open Panarin, who somehow beat Husso from a sharp angle to make it 3-0. There wasn’t much wiggle room. Panarin made a great shot to give the Blueshirts two goals within a 48-second span.

But before the period concluded, the Red Wings kept coming. Desperate to get back in the game, they nearly pulled within two. But Seider had his shot go wide. Detroit missed 23 shots. They were the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.

After being outplayed by a wide margin, the Rangers were much better in the third period. They were able to forecheck more and force Husso to make some stops. Through 40 minutes, they managed only 14 shots. In the final 20, they had 10. It was a better effort.

In what became one of the most bizarre moments of the game, Trouba came out of the penalty box and got a clean breakaway. The Rochester, Michigan native opted for a slapshot. Husso made a good stick save to keep it out.

With Detroit still trailing 3-0, coach Derek Lalonde lifted Husso with over four minutes left in regulation. Of course, it backfired. Following a Trouba block, Fox moved the puck to Reilly Smith, whose long shot hit the empty net with 3:43 remaining to put the game out of reach.

Quick turned aside 10 more shots in the final period to get the shutout. He sure deserved it. Without him, there’s no victory.

The only other point to add is that the Red Wings are bad. They still don’t resemble a playoff team. They came close to making it last season. If they miss again, it might be time for Steve Yzerman to come under criticism. How much longer does he get? Not surprisingly, the Rangers swept the regular season series.

Now, it’s onto some real competition. If they don’t come out fast in two days, they’ll get blown out of Madison Square Garden. The Jets are explosive. Get ready for Shesterkin against rating Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck.