NHL

‘Power’ surge sparks Rangers

The Rangers are hoping Sunday’s power-play outburst is just the jolt their struggling unit needed.

Jump-starting the power play has been a point of emphasis all season for the Rangers, who with 35 goals on 211 chances (16.6 percent) ranked 21st in the league going into last night. But in Sunday’s 5-3 win over the Penguins, the team rallied from a 2-0 deficit on the strength of three power-play goals.

“We had the puck more in the end zone, and we won more battles to keep control of the puck,” coach John Tortorella said yesterday after practice. “We have changed it up as far as how we’re trying to get some sort of setup. I thought we made right decisions with the puck [Sunday]. Most importantly, we had people in front of the net.”

The Rangers had people in front of the net on all three power-play goals, two by Ryan Callahan and one by Artem Anisimov. The Blueshirts have showed signs of coming alive with four power-play goals over nine chances in their past two contests. But Sunday was just the fifth time this season they scored more than one power-play goal in a game, which is why half of yesterday’s practice revolved around setting up the power play.

“The last couple of games, we’ve been doing a good job. We’ve given it a lot of attention,” said Brian Boyle, who is tied for second on the team with four power-play goals. “We have adjusted a couple of things, and then the guys on the ice executed. You might not score every time, but you’re gonna get the chances if you do the right things.”

The Rangers, who had lost six straight before Sunday, are fighting to maintain their grasp on playoff position. They are just four points ahead of ninth-place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference.

The surging power play will face a stiff test tomorrow night when the Kings visit the Garden. The Kings were eighth in the league in penalty killing with an 84 percent success rate going into last night, and are 4-0-2 on their 10-game road trip.

Boyle knows a thing or two about the team, having spent his first two NHL seasons with the Kings.

“At this point in the season, there’s not a lot of room for error,” he said. “I kind of know what they’re about. We played them twice last year, and I was obviously with them for a couple of years.”

david.satriano@nypost.com