NHL

Foes’ flubs help Rangers

The Rangers’ GPS to the playoffs broke at the All-Star break. So by Sunday, skating against the Penguins, they were relieved to find hard signs of direction.

Down 2-0 early, they didn’t buckle. When, after cutting the lead to 5-3 in the third, with Pittsburgh having a four-minute power play, the Rangers’ upper lips stayed stiff.

The Rangers scored three power-play goals and killed eight of 10 disadvantages. Vinny Prospal and Ryan Callahan, both among many recently returned from extended absences, scored goals, Callahan two of them.

But the best indication of all about their postseason chances was their first win in seven games still kept them four points to the good of ninth place. While the Rangers have been going 5-9-1 since Jan. 8, eighth-place Carolina went 8-7-2 and ninth-place Atlanta 4-7-3.

“We bleep it away in Atlanta [Friday night], I hope it doesn’t come back and bite,” lamented coach John Tortorella. “That was a huge game that we lost ourselves.”

Truth is, there’s a lot of that going around the Rangers’ neighborhood of the standings. Sunday, the Thrashers were 1:19 away from a precious point in a home game against Carolina when Erik Cole scored for the Hurricanes.

Buffalo, loser at home in overtime Sunday to the Islanders, is on an 8-4-1 surge and has pulled within four points with four games in hand on the Blueshirts. But the Sabres, underachievers through most of the season, can’t take the last Eastern Conference spot from the Rangers unless either Carolina or Atlanta takes one too.

The Devils are hotter than anybody could have fantasized. But when they are four points out, not still 14, and have only two teams to catch rather than five, get back to us, please. When teams you are chasing are getting points for losing, it’s hard to make them up.

Besides, what we’ve been writing all season about how many young Rangers are better than they were a year ago, we haven’t been making that up, either. If Marian Gaborik begins to consistently score, the Rangers make the playoffs easily; if he doesn’t, they’re going to make them anyway.

The more Brian Boyle scores, he continues to be less a guy out of nowhere and more a former No. 1 pick who just needed time and opportunity. On Sunday, Callahan had his best game in the six since his return and Prospal looked like some of his rust was coming off, too.

The Rangers need a point man, maybe another veteran defenseman, who, like the No 1 center, isn’t likely coming until fall. There are useful players available at this trade deadline, no likely team-makers for them or their competitors.

But they already are much deeper than a year ago, when the Rangers were only one game over .500 on Feb. 15, didn’t start to make their move until the pressure was off and then had nothing left in Game 82 but best wishes for Henrik Lundqvist, who ran out of gas in the shootout, too.

The Rangers are too young on defense, still have some guys who can’t bring it every night, but fewer than a year ago. Health permitting, they should make the postseason before final-week home games against the Bruins, Thrashers and Devils. But even if the Rangers haven’t, it certainly won’t hurt to have those games at the Garden.

jay.greenberg@nypost.com