NEW YORK – There is a murmur on 33rd Street and it’s a sound, which hasn’t been heard for years.

But after the Blueshirts’ 5-1 dismantling of the Ottawa Senators, maybe it can be said.

The Rangers are that good.

“I hope we are developing a reputation as a team that’s tough to beat, whether at home or on the road,” coach Tom Renney said. “I hope that we’re being identified as a team that plays a solid game without the puck and that we are solid from the goaltender out.”

After 57 games, the team is 33-15-8 overall with a sparkling home record of 18-6-5. They have given up the third fewest goals in the league at 138, which is helped in part to the great defensive play, especially in Madison Square Garden.

Darius Kasparaitis is a guy who knows the up and downs of playing at MSG and says it’s a “unique place” but sometimes “it’s tough to play in the Garden because the ice isn’t that good. But if you play well, you feed the people’s energy and of course if you play well they will support you.”

And the sparse crowds of 2003-04 have become the sellouts in 2005-06. The Rangers have brought the people who Mark Messier called “The Garden Faithful” back to cheer on the Blueshirts.

This team is not doing it with flash of glitz. Outside of Jaromir Jagr, there weren’t too many stars on the team. These Rangers are a lunch pail crew, who work as hard to prevent shots as they do to score them. In the beginning of the season, they were picked last by mostly every hockey publication in the world, but this prideful bunch worked hard to become the team they are.

“People always like players who are playing a hard nosed game and blocking shots,” Kasparaitis said. “We have a lot of young guys and character guys. All of us know our roles and we all chip in playing the game.”

It’s a transformation, which puts them in first place with emerging stars like Henrik Lundqvist and Petr Prucha, whose knee injury seems to be less serious. The next generation of Ranger was said to come from within and in only two years and one NHL season that has become a reality.

That is what Renney and assistant general manager Don Maloney wanted when they began this rebuilding job not so long ago. The Rangers wanted to become relevant in the crowded sports world of New York.

“We have a lot of hockey to play and who knows where we will finish up,” Renney said. “Of course we want to play post season hockey, but we want this city to be awfully proud of this team every night and we want to earn that everyday – at home or on the road, because he take New York with us. That is what we want to stand the test of time this year.”

Well coach, consider that mission accomplished and hopefully they can build on it for a nice playoff run.