NEW YORK -- Martin St. Louis would have been happy with the win.

He would have been thrilled to talk about the way the New York Rangers have responded the past two games, and the way Sunday night's 5-0 win over the team with the best record in hockey proved what the Rangers have been telling us and telling themselves.

They're pretty darned good when they show up and play the game the right way.

So is he, and this is as good a time as any to talk about it.

It's setting up as a huge week for St. Louis, one he began Sunday with a goal and an assist against his hometown, Montreal Canadiens, and one that will bring him next back to Tampa Bay, where he played for 13 seasons and won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning.

The hometown team and then the homecoming game, all in a week in which St. Louis is fast-approaching the 1,000-point milestone.

"It's funny the way it all unfolds," he said.

Funny, yes, but also impressive, because the 39-year-old St. Louis isn't exactly limping to 1,000. His two points Sunday, the 997th and 998th of his career, were also the 10th and 11th he has had in his past 10 games.

"He's not showing any signs of slowing down," teammate Dominic Moore said. "He's just getting better and better."

And now he could get his 1,000th point against the team he represented while tallying 953 of the first 998.

It really is funny the way it's unfolding.

"I'll eventually get there, so I try not to think about it too much," he said. "There's going to be a lot of emotion, for sure."

There's been plenty of emotion for the Rangers over the past week, with the anger and soul-searching generated by last Monday's ugly 5-1 loss to the Lightning, followed by the encouragement of Wednesday's response against the Philadelphia Flyers and the satisfaction of Sunday's win over a Canadiens team that had lost just five times in its first 23 games.

After all the stops and starts, the Rangers are hesitant to declare their problems fixed ("A couple of times this year, I said we're on the right track, then I got a kick in the gut," coach Alain Vigneault said), but there's no doubt there's been significant improvement.

There's also no doubt now that the Rangers have been helped significantly by getting healthier, and especially by getting center Derek Stepan back on the ice and playing well. It's not a coincidence that St. Louis' best stretch of the season has come since Stepan's return, either, and not just because the two have become linemates.

With Stepan out, Vigneault asked St. Louis to play eight games at center, knowing that it wouldn't be easy for him, but also knowing that St. Louis would do whatever the team needed.

He was right on both counts, and it's now more obvious than ever that playing center contributed to St. Louis' slow start on the stat sheet.

"I'm a winger," he said. "I played my whole life on the wing. I'm definitely more comfortable on the wing."

He looked perfectly comfortable Sunday, making a beautiful backhand feed to set Stepan up for the second Rangers goal, then overwhelming Alexei Emelin to set up and then score the third Rangers goal himself.

The Rangers went on to complete perhaps their best all-around effort of the season, with goals from each of the four forward lines and a shutout from Henrik Lundqvist.

"We played a very poised game," St. Louis said. "We played very poised against Philly, but I thought this was a bigger challenge."

They met the challenge, and so has he. They were rewarded with a second straight uplifting win, and he was rewarded with a chance to make some personal history back in the building where he made so much history before.

This past week could prove to be a significant one for the Rangers, if they really have learned their lesson.

And this week, the one that began Sunday, could prove to be a significant one for Martin St. Louis.

It's all unfolding just fine.