NHL

Rangers snap skid with shootout victory vs. Calgary

Progress was made Sunday night at the Garden for the Rangers, albeit incrementally.

The first 15 minutes felt like a replay of Friday night’s forgettable performance, yet by the end of the evening, the Rangers had two points and Henrik Lundqvist was able to celebrate for a moment in this uneven season of his.

The King’s stop on Mikael Backlund in the seventh round of the shootout — the Rangers first one of the season 34 games in — gave the Blueshirts a desperately-needed 4-3 shootout victory over the Flames, snapping a five-game home losing streak (1-4-1) that threatened to turn a team-record, nine-game homestand into a 16-day nightmare.

“It was just a big relief to finally get two points,” said the beleaguered Lundqvist, who reacted with the look of such relief after his clinching stop, spreading his arms, raising his blocker skyward and gazing toward the roof as if to say “finally,” after he was beaten by Paul Byron and Lee Stempniak to extend the shootout in earlier rounds.

“It’s a big win for us. Right now, you have to look at it as taking baby steps in improving, and [to] start winning. You can’t turn this around right away. You start with one period, then two periods, then a game.”

Benoit Pouliot goal was the game-winner in the 4-3 final of the shootout and Mats Zuccarello, Brad Richards and Dominic Moore also scored for the Rangers.

Lundqvist (18 saves) was beaten twice on the Flames’ first eight shots in the opening period, but rebounded and wasn’t pulled as he was on Friday. Instead, he stood tall throughout the contest, keeping the Rangers within striking distance in the early going as they scrambled in their own end, picking up just his second win in his last seven starts.

The Rangers (16-17-1, 33 points) eventually found their footing and staged two rallies, from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2, getting goals from Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan (his first in 11 games) and Carl Hagelin to eventually force overtime.

“We needed it, there’s no doubt about it,” Hagelin said. “We showed character. Even though we were down, we came back.”

The Rangers were gift-wrapped an opportunity late in regulation, 1:21 of a five-on-three, and not only couldn’t capitalize, but Kreider committed a four-minute high sticking double minor for drawing blood, setting up Calgary for a four-on-three advantage in overtime. The Flames couldn’t close it out either, setting the stage for the shootout.

This wasn’t a performance the Rangers will take bows for, a hodgepodge of a hockey match the Rangers alternated between dogged two-way play they can build on and forgettable hockey.

Yet, it was a victory the Rangers said was a must, two points they will gladly take and confidence they admittedly need heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the electric Penguins at the Garden. It was also a rare comeback win, the kind coach Alain Vigneault said he hasn’t seen enough of.

“You look at games this year and you talk about a kick-back or a push-back,” Stepan said. “Tonight was a good night for us to push back.”