Rangers top Kings as goaltender Jonathan Quick beats his former team

There was nothing quick for Jonathan Quick about Sunday.

“It’s a long day,” he said. “You’re thinking about it. You just want the game to start . . . There’s a lot of thoughts running through your head. Tough to nap.”

When the puck finally did drop, Quick looked rested and ready, and the result was a night to remember for the Rangers’ backup goaltender.

Quick stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the Kings at Madison Square Garden in his first career game against his longtime former team.

“Obviously, it’s special,” said Quick, who was the game’s first star. “It’s a game that this summer, when the schedule comes out, you know when we’re playing them.”

Quick spent 16 seasons with the Kings, with whom he won two Stanley Cups, including in 2014 when they beat the Rangers in the Final.

But last March his long run in L.A. abruptly ended with a trade to the Blue Jackets, who then sent him to the Golden Knights, with whom he won a third Cup.

Quick joined the Rangers as a free agent before this season and now is 8-0-1 as Igor Shesterkin’s backup.

The victory over the Kings (16-5-4) was important for the Rangers (19-6-1) beyond the Quick story.

They had lost games against in Ottawa and Washington, D.C., by a combined 10-2, and were looking to avoid their first slump of the season against a team that had been 11-0 on the road until losing to the Islanders in overtime at UBS Arena on Saturday.

All of that concern melted away on Garden ice, with Quick making 25 saves.

Asked whether he sensed his teammates wanted this one for him, he said, “You could see it, really, just their effort, attention to detail, everything. The team’s performance was phenomenal.”

Said coach Peter Laviolette, “I thought it was fantastic for him to have the success he’s had with one organization and to come in here and play as well as he has for us.”

Laviolette said “everyone was pumped” about the matchup.

“Obviously, this is one that we really…