NHL

MSG analyst: Rangers still contenders

The puck drops on NHL’s regular season on Tuesday with the Rangers starting two days later in Phoenix. MSG analyst Joe Micheletti talks former coach John Tortorella, the Blueshirts and more with The Post’s Justin Terranova.

Q: Do you think John Tortorella is a good fit in Vancouver?

A: The situation with the Canucks, and this was before John got there, to me their window for winning a championship kept slowly closing. And they’re not nearly as good as they were a couple of years. That’s going to be an interesting watch.

Q: The Rangers took a step back last year, so are they getting farther away, too?

A: No, because their core is their young guys. In Vancouver, the core is their older guys. (Marc) Staal, (Dan) Girardi, (Ryan) Callahan have all come up together and have been joined by (Derek) Stepan and (Ryan) McDonagh. They are a better team because of guys like (Rick) Nash and (Brad) Richards, and if all else fails you have the best goalie in the league in Henrik Lundqvist.

Q: What’s the biggest change we will see with new Rangers coach Alain Vigneault?

A: His system is to be more aggressive in the defensive zone, and that’s an adjustment these players are going to have to make and become comfortable with.

Q: Do you think Brad Richards will be the biggest beneficiary of the coaching change?

A: I think everyone hopes so. There are so many factors that go into last year with players that don’t skate for extended periods of time. He’s been such a good player throughout his career that it’s hard for me to think he’s going to be the same type of player this year that he was last year. It doesn’t matter who the coach is. What I’ve seen is he already looks like a player that looks more natural and instinctive whereas last year he didn’t look like he knew whether to pass or shoot.

Q: Do you expect the Islanders to take another step forward?

A: The new pressure that they will face is that they’ve awakened the league to the kind of team they are. The league will be more prepared when they play against them, and that’s something new for them. To me, the key is they need goaltending. I really think they would have beaten the Penguins in the first round had they gotten better goaltending. I like (Evgeni) Nabokov. He’s been a real good leader for them, but he needs to have a good season.