NHL

Rangers’ home struggles continue

All the talk about turning the Garden into a fortress has been only that. Last night’s 2-0 defeat to the Blues leaves the Rangers with just two wins in their first seven (2-4-1) at home after winning only 18 of 41 (18-17-6) in the world’s roundest arena last year.

“This should be where we’re our strongest, so it’s very frustrating,” said Brandon Dubinsky, a tad off his game. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but we should understand the opportunity we have to play here and make this a tough building for the opposition and a place where we feel confident about ourselves.

“We have to make sure we’re hard to play against and make sure our opponents understand they’re going to be in for a battle. I don’t think we’re making it hard enough right now on the visiting teams.”

Last night marked the opening of a four-game homestand, with Washington in tomorrow, Buffalo on Thursday and Edmonton on Sunday afternoon in Tom Renney’s return. The Rangers will then play six of their next eight and seven of their next 10 on the road, where they’re 5-2.

“I don’t know if it’s mental preparation, I don’t have the answers, but we have to step it up a little bit,” Dubinsky said. “We have to simplify our game the way we do on the road and make sure we outwork our opponents.

“The way we’re built, and with what we have now in our lineup, that’s our best chance to be successful.”

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Marian Gaborik worked hard at the morning skate and may be cleared for contact as early as today’s practice. Gaborik, who has missed 11 games since sustaining a separated left shoulder in the Oct. 15 home opener, likely is looking at a return late this week or early next week.

Erik Christensen, who opened between Alex Frolov and Ruslan Fedotenko, was essentially benched in the third period, getting three shifts for a total of 53 seconds, including the final four-second shift of the match following the Blues’ empty-netter.

Fedotenko picked up two penalties within a 2:12 span of the first, cited for tripping in the offensive zone at 5:49 before getting hit with a roughing call at 8:01 when he bumped Alex Pietrangelo on an icing call.

“If that’s roughing I don’t know what we’re playing here, I really don’t know. I don’t know what the hell we’re playing,” said head coach John Tortorella, who was rebuked by the league on Friday for his critical comments the previous night regarding the non-call on Daniel Carcillo for his hit to Fedotenko’s head.

“He didn’t know it was icing. Feds isn’t a guy that’s going to be running people over in that situation. He didn’t know it was icing and he rubbed the guy. But the explanation is you can’t have any contact.”

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Derek Stepan was run into the rear wall by BJ Crombeen at 7:25 of the third, and though the freshman center stayed down for a while and was attended to by medical trainer Jim Ramsay, he was able to take a pair of shifts on the ensuing 5:00 major power play for boarding.

Stepan, who has been on the fourth line the last five games, played 8:30 of his total 14:50 in the third, essentially getting Christensen’s ice. . . .

The Rangers, who went 18-41 at the faceoff dots in New Jersey, were 16-38 last night. That’s 30-percent “efficiency” over the two contests. . . .

Martin Biron yielded his lone goal at 5:16 of the second on Alex Steen‘s three-on-two wrister from the top when Derek Boogaard attempted to throw a check down at the other goal line despite the fact that linemates Stepan and Evgeny Grachev were already in behind the net.

“Boogie comes cruising in to finish a check,” said Tortorella. “We lost the high man.”

Boogaard, who played a total of 4:10, did not get off the bench in third until the 19:56 mark.