The Rangers had a rare practice at Madison Square Garden yesterday. After opening the season with seven games in three countries on two continents, spanning 10 time zones, the Rangers didn’t want their home to seem so foreign. So they returned to get their initial look at the first part of the Garden’s $850 million renovation that will continue over the next two summers.
It was good they got reacquainted.
“I was shocked. I had to slap myself in the face a couple times and realize I was here,” defenseman Michael Del Zotto said in the team’s new locker room. “I got lost a couple times already. Everything’s completely different.”
Emerging from a new tunnel past the glass windows of floor suites, the Rangers (3-2-2) return to the ice at the world’s most famous partially renovated arena and kick off a six-game homestand tonight against the Maple Leafs (5-2-1), a ticket that had scalpers outside working 30 hours before the puck drops.
With the lower bowl completely transformed, most noticeably in the seats’ color change from purple to a navy-black hue, fans aren’t the only ones who are going to need some time to adjust.
“I don’t think you’ll really feel at home until you’ve been here a couple weeks,” goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. “It’s gonna take awhile. It feels different, good different though. You definitely want to feel like you’re in MSG, but I think it was time for a little update. We’re all excited. It’s a big difference to be back here and the preparation for us will be a lot better, I think.”
The Rangers hope the new energy brings new results, having had better road records than home in the past two seasons. Winners of three of their past four games, including Monday’s 2-1 win at Winnipeg, the Rangers were pleased with their trip through Canada, despite their inconsistent play.
“We end up with eight points. I’m not gonna apologize to anyone for how we get the eight points,” coach John Tortorella said. “We have struggled in certain areas of our game, as a lot of teams do in October. I’m not concerned about that at all.”
“Everyone’s bashing us, but we’re still a game above .500 and we dealt with some injuries and been on the road the whole start of the year,” Del Zotto said.
Defenseman Michael Sauer will only help. After missing five games, the 24-year-old will return tonight, after injuring his shoulder against the Ducks in Sweden on Oct. 8. Much is expected of Sauer after a stellar and surprising rookie season, in which he led the team with a plus-20 overall rating. Tortorella would not comment whom he’d be paired with.
“He came on strong last year,” Tortorella said. “He was a surprise and turned into one of our top four [defensemen], so when you get one of your top four back, it certainly helps.”
“It’s great to have him back,” Del Zotto said. “He does so many little things. He makes the game so much easier for the rest of us.”
howard.kussoy@nypost.com