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Despite winning record, Rangers ‘very aware’ they must be better

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers - Game Four

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 21: Head coach Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers leaves the ice following a 5-0 defeat against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 21, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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The New York Rangers may be winning, but their head coach, Alain Vigneault, knows they need to be better.

Hmmm...this feels familiar for some reason.

Oh right, that’s because it was the same story last season, when the Rangers got off to a great start before tailing off then fizzling out in the playoffs.

The Rangers head into tonight’s game in Brooklyn with a record of 17-8-1. That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad -- in five of their last six games, they’ve been held to 25 shots or fewer. On the season, their score-adjusted Corsi has fallen to 26th in the league.

“We’re very aware and very conscious of the areas we need to be better at,” Vigneault said, per the New York Post. “We’re playing a team that’s playing real solid hockey.”

Indeed, the Islanders are 3-0-1 in their last four, including wins over Pittsburgh and Washington.

To be fair to the Rangers, they’ve been without Mika Zibanejad for the past seven games, and he was a big part of their early success. Tonight, they’ll also be without Michael Grabner, who’s gone back to Austria for his grandmother’s funeral.

Read more: The new-look Rangers are dangerous on every line

But the Rangers aren’t looking to make excuses. They’re looking instead to get back on track.

“It’s definitely a five-man thing for us and communication and just getting on the same page again,” forward Jimmy Vesey said, per the Daily News. “It’s definitely something we need to get back to, and I think that’s kind of like the recipe for being a good team down the line and in the playoffs.”