With their postseason hopes wobbling in the balance, this was one the Rangers absolutely could not let slip out of their hands. And though it wasn’t the most authoritative win in franchise history, they took care of business, beating the woeful Panthers, 6-1, Thursday night at the Garden.
“No disrespect to them, but they’re not playing for the same thing we are,” Brad Richards said from underneath the Broadway Hat, having notched a goal and an assist. “Now that we’re here, the main thing we ask for is that it’s in our hands, and we do what we need to do. It will be on us if we do something less than that, but we want to be in there and moving up.”
The win kept the 22-17-4 Rangers tied in points with the Jets — 4-3 winners in overtime last night at home against the Hurricanes — for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, but ahead of them by virtue of a game in hand. With the Islanders and Senators winning as well, seventh place is still three points away as the Rangers head to Buffalo to take on the surging Sabres tonight.
“All the other teams are winning,” said coach John Tortorella, “so we have to keep on finding people to contribute.”
It wasn’t too tough to find contributors last night, as Tortorella got two goals apiece from Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard, along with the one from Richards and one from Rick Nash.
“I don’t give a hoot who contributes, as long as they contribute,” Tortorella said. “I don’t give a hoot if they’re new or old, veteran or rookie, as long as we get contributions from everybody, because that’s the only way we’re going to find a way.”
The Rangers were coming off a demoralizing 4-2 loss to the 12th-place Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday, a game that was as head-scratching as any in this already confusing season. Yet they came out against the 30th-overall Panthers (13-24-6) and scored two power-play goals in the first 9:10, the first from Brassard at 3:05, followed soon thereafter by Nash.
“We really want to get those first goals and tonight we did,” said Nash, leading the team with 18 goals on the season. “Every game means so much. We’ve got to pour it all into every game now.”
Ending the first up 2-1, the Rangers didn’t really take full control until Zuccarello got his first goal late in the second period, roofing a backhand off a great Ryane Clowe feed from behind the net to make it 3-1.
“To get that third goal was big for us,” said Henrik Lundqvist, terrific again in making 34 stops, the shutout broken up only by a first-period tally from talented rookie Jonathan Huberdeau. “They had some chances. They’re a quick team and I don’t think we felt like this game was over until we scored the fourth one.”
That was the second from Zuccarello with about five minutes remaining, which opened the floodgates for another from Brassard and Richards’ nightcap, all within a span of 3:25.
“I think that’s important that we don’t need help,” Tortorella said. “You shouldn’t feel the pressure and shy away from it. It’s a great opportunity to be involved with it. And that’s the way you need to take it, as an individual and as a group.”
bcyrgalis@nypost.com