NEW YORK -- Six months ago, they played a thrilling six-game playoff series, and the New York Rangers came out on top.

Now, as the Rangers and Montreal Canadiens meet at Madison Square Garden for the first time since New York's series-clinching Game 6 win, the Canadiens have the NHL's best record. The Rangers, meanwhile, have been one of the league's most enigmatic teams in the first two months of the season.

Whatever these two teams are right now, they're not even. As Rangers coach Alain Vigneault described the Canadiens on Sunday afternoon, you could almost hear a touch of envy in his voice.

"I'm hoping that a lot of our guys learned from that [playoff run] and they're going to get better," said Vigneault, whose up-and-down team enters play Sunday night with an 8-7-4 record. "Without a doubt, the Habs have learned from last year. Tremendous amount of skill, tremendous amount of potential, and they're playing up to that skill and potential right now.

"We need to find a way to do the same on a consistent basis."

The Rangers have been wildly inconsistent. They can look at times like that playoff team but too often have come out flat. They have lost some games to good teams -- like the 3-1 loss in Montreal on Oct. 25 -- but have also lost two games to the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs and lost at home against both Colorado and Edmonton, both last-place teams.

The Canadiens haven't been as good as their sparkling 16-5-1 record suggests. They have scored just nine more goals than they have allowed; eight teams in the league have a better scoring differential.

But they've continued to win.

"They're the same good team they were last year, only better," Vigneault said. "Their young players are only getting better. It starts from their goaltending on up. They're a good team; that's why they have the best record in the league right now."

Fast plays: Speaking of young players, Vigneault chose to leave 22-year-old Jesper Fast in the lineup Sunday night, even though Lee Stempniak's back has healed to the point where he could have played.

"An extra day [for Stempniak] won't hurt," Vigneault said. "I think [Fast] has played well. He's been effective on that fourth line. He's been effective on the forecheck. I've been very happy with how he's played so far."

McDonagh skates: Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh has continued to skate on his own and could join the team in practice as soon as this week. He has been out since separating his left shoulder Nov. 1 against Winnipeg.