Jonathan Quick lights-out in winning his first start as a Ranger

SEATTLE — Jonathan Quick noticed that it was a little darker than usual when he took his spot in the goal crease for the Rangers on Saturday night at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. But he didn’t have any real trouble seeing the puck or anything, so he didn’t think anything of it.

“I didn’t know — like, it’s Climate Pledge Arena, right? I didn’t know if they were using something like energy-efficient bulbs or something. That’s literally what I was thinking,’’ he said after the Rangers opened their season-high five-game road trip with a solid 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. “That whole corner was out. [But] both teams dealt with it, right? Nothing’s ever going to be perfect, so you just make do with what it is and try to figure out a way to get the win.’’

Quick, a three-time Stanley Cup winner, made 18 saves in his Rangers debut after signing as a free agent this past summer with the team he rooted for as a boy.

Quick looked a little unsteady at times in the first period. He allowed a one-timer from the left-wing circle by Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz at 8:41 of the first period while playing at the “dark’’ end of the rink as the Rangers fell behind 1-0.

But the Rangers rattled off four straight goals — two by Artemi Panarin and one each by Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere — to win going away.

Coach Peter Laviolette said he was pleased with how the Rangers bounced back from Thursday’s ugly loss to Nashville. He also said he was pleased with Quick’s performance.

“It was really good,’’ Laviolette said. “It wasn’t a lot of work, [but] as he went on, I thought he got better.’’

Quick, who grew up in Milford, Connecticut, said it was “special’’ to get his first win as a Ranger.

“It means a lot,’’ he said. “At the same time . . . you’ve got to just focus on what you have to do to help the team win. If you get caught up in all those other thoughts, it turns into a distraction. So you just go through your normal routine and focus on what you can do to help the team win the game.’’

Quick, 37, leads all American-born goaltenders with 58 career shutouts and is second in wins with 376. But after leading the Los Angeles Kings to two Stanley Cup titles — including one against the Rangers in 2014 — he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets and rerouted to the Vegas Golden Knights at the deadline last season. He ended up winning a third Cup as a backup with Vegas.

In July, he signed a one-year, $825,000 deal to come to the Rangers and serve as Igor Shesterkin’s backup, and he watched as Shesterkin started the first four games. But he said it wasn’t difficult to wait his turn.

“I’ve been getting plenty of reps in practice, and I knew the deal coming into the season,’’ he said. “I know who I’m playing with, and I just want to give him the breaks he needs and try to perform as well as possible when I get the opportunity.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.