NEW YORK – At 1-2, this wasn’t a must win for the New York Rangers, yet it was a needed victory this early in the season.

And the team played like they needed a win.

In maybe their best game of the season, the Blueshirts dominated the Washington Capitals in their 3-1 win at the Garden last night.

“Tonight was more important to get the win, rather than play well,” said netminder Henrik Lundqvist, who let in only seven goals through the first four games. “Two days ago, we played well, but didn’t get the win and tonight was all about the two points.”

The ‘W’ didn’t come easy thanks to the massive effort by Caps’ goalie Olaf Kolzig, who stopped 38 Ranger shots on the night. But his effort went to naught, as the Blueshirts’ power play came alive, scoring all three goals on the man advantage and going 3-for-8 overall.

“We worked on some specific things that win you hockey games,” said Brendan Shanahan, who assisted on Scott Gomez’s goal 1:33 into the game, when he fed the center in front of the net. “Part of that was our power play. Tonight our power play won us the game. It’s obviously a results-business, but we’re trying to look at other stats that we feel in the long run will get us lots of wins.”

But tonight the result was a win. After Gomez’s goal made it 1-0, Lundqvist gave up one to Alexander Ovechkin through his legs to tie it at 7:47.

That was all Washington could muster against Lundqvist, who stopped 24 shots. The defense, a spot where there Rangers were thought to be thin, has become their strength partially due to their star goalie.

“Henrik is a great defenseman,” quipped coach Tom Renney, but went on to say, “We are better as a team there too. You can’t leave people alone. You can’t leave a defenseman high and dry. The more we work on it, the better we will be without the puck. Our defense group, like our goaltender needs the help from our forwards.”

It was the forwards who starred in this game and made sure it became 3-1 after Marty Straka and Michal Rozsival put in their power play goals. Jaromir Jagr assisted on all three Ranger scores as did Marcel Hossa on Straka’s and Chris Drury with Rozsival.

“It’s always easier to win when you have a lead top protect,” Jagr said. “We had a lot of shots and a lot of chances. We created power plays.”

The Rangers also made sure Washington did not get man advantages, as the Caps only had three power play chances through the first 2 ½ periods.

“We played a pretty disciplined game against a team that was 3-0,” Shanahan said. “That speaks to being in better position and being in control of the puck. There’s less need to take penalties when you are in on the forecheck.”

The Rangers won’t have too much time to savor this victory as the Ottawa Senators come into town tomorrow night. Last Saturday, the Blueshirts dropped a 2-0 decision in Ottawa.

“Tonight we played one of the toughest teams in the league,” Shanahan said. “Tomorrow we play the toughest team in the league.”