NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers are 11-2-2 and winners of six straight after barely breaking a sweat in a 3-0 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers' last regulation loss occurred Oct. 15 in Montreal; they are 8-0-2 over that span and have outscored opponents 32-11.

Yet there was Rangers coach Alain Vigneault at the podium Tuesday night sounding like someone who isn't all that happy with his team over the first six-plus weeks of the season.

"Our record is pretty good," Vigneault said, "but we still have areas that we're working on that we need to improve. We're very aware of that. We're like any team in the NHL -- you have to get better as the season moves forward."

Usually when a coach is downplaying one of the best records in the league, it's nothing more than lip service. But there is some merit to what Vigneault said.

The Rangers were outshot 33-23 overall, generated only 13 shots on 5-on-5 and were whistled for six minor penalties. They have been outshot in nine of 15 games and held below 30 shots on 11 occasions.

But what has worked so well all season did so again against the Hurricanes -- goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was fantastic in recording his first shutout of the season, the league's fifth-ranked penalty kill stymied all six of Carolina's power-play chances and the Rangers' converted on their best scoring chances.

Right winger Jesper Fast and left winger Rick Nash scored 11 seconds apart midway through the first period and defenseman Ryan McDonagh added an insurance goal 13 seconds into the third period, all during 5-on-5 play.

Is this type of success sustainable given the Rangers' inability to deliver a consistent 60-minute performance? Usually the answer would be no, but considering their success playing this way last season and the fact Lundqvist is still one of the best goaltenders in the world, this may be the recipe for another outstanding regular season and deep playoff run.

"You want to keep getting better every game and we are still trying to get that 60-minute, real good game," Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi said. "It's hard to have a perfect game in this league. When something goes wrong, we get a big save or a big play, get the play going back the other way and have some momentum in our favor."

The Rangers had just three shots in the first two periods yet two shots found the back of the net. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes had a great chance to take a 1-0 lead about eight minutes into the game but a wrist shot by defenseman Ryan Murphy from about 15 feet away missed the net by a wide margin.

The Hurricanes were mostly stifled on their six power plays as they only mustered eight shots; the Rangers had just two power plays but put nine shots on goaltender Cam Ward, who made 20 saves.

"It's kind of been like that all year," Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. "They've found ways to score goals at opportune times and they did tonight again."

Nash's goal, his second of the season, marked the first time he put a puck into an opposing net. His only other goal was an empty-netter against the Arizona Coyotes on Oct. 22, a goal he was awarded after being hooked with a clear path to the net.

The Rangers have done just fine without their star winger scoring goals but it was a personal relief for Nash to score a genuine goal in a victory.

"It's no secret it's been a frustrating start," Nash said. "I'm lucky I'm at a point in my career where I'm interested in winning games and being on a winning team but you always try to help out.

"It was finally nice to get one."

The Hurricanes (6-9-0) have dropped three of four but look like a much better team than the one that opened last season with eight straight losses and never recovered.

While the Hurricanes appear improved and are failing to get results, the inconsistent Rangers are finding ways to win.

"There is a little bit of a microcosm there for sure," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "I thought we had a lot of good things that we gave up on in 5-on-5."

NOTES: Hurricanes D Brett Pesce, a native of Tarrytown, N.Y., played his first game at MSG. Teammates allowed Pesce to take a solo lap at the start of warmups. He had one shot in 19:20 ... Hurricanes LW Joakim Nordstrom played for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury Oct. 13. He had one shot in 6:43. ... The Hurricanes scratched D Noah Hanifin, C Andrej Nestrasil and LW Brad Malone. ... The return of LW Rick Nash resulted in C Dominic Moore sitting as a healthy scratch. Moore had not missed a game since the 2013-14 season. ... Rangers D Dylan McIlrath was also a healthy scratch.