NHL

Rangers turn corner after ‘miserable’ December

Nope, not one member of the Rangers liked the idea of describing their recent revival as turning a corner.

But there was no hiding the fact things have changed drastically, not just in the standings, but in the feeling of the dressing room.

“December was pretty quiet and pretty miserable at times,” Brad Richards told The Post after Monday’s practice, the team preparing to play host to the Lightning on Tuesday. “A lot of people were searching for their games, we were on home ice every night and you couldn’t find it.

“It didn’t matter if we played a great five-on-five game, we gave up two power-play goals, a short-hand goal, a shootout loss, there was always something — we couldn’t grab it.

“We saw some signs just before Christmas, those two wins just before Christmas really settled us down. We played some pretty hockey since.”

Those two victories were taken from the Wild and Maple Leafs respectively, the latter in a shootout on the day before the mandated three-day break. Starting with the Minnesota win, the Rangers have gone 8-2-1, raising themselves to a 24-20-3 record and into a tie with the Capitals for second in the Metropolitan Division.

But before those wins? What existed was a scattered landscape of mediocrity, a team that struggled to find an identity under new coach Alain Vigneault and looked destined to be a letdown.

“For some reason, I have sort of gotten those bad games out of my memory — I’ve really turned the page on that,” Vigneault joked. “We’ve been playing some really good hockey for quite some time now. Maybe we weren’t getting the results, or consistent results, that we thought we should be getting the way we were playing.”

Without prompting, that led Vigneault to begin discussing what he thought was the biggest reason his team has been able to turn around: The play of franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist, along with his able-bodied backup, Cam Talbot.

“What’s happening is both our goaltenders are playing really solid right now and that reflects throughout the game,” Vigneault said. “They’re making the right saves at the right time. We’re scoring more right now, we’re generating more quality chances.

“I’m really not focused on whatever you want to call it — turning a corner. Our mentality right now is one game at a time.”
When asked if he had an idea for who would start against the Lightning, Vigneault laughed at his questioner.

“Are you really asking me that question?” he said with a smile. “Hank’s going.”

Besides Lundqvist — boy, it’s as if Talbot’s three starts in a row which sandwiched the aforementioned holiday break never happened, eh? — the Rangers have also gotten great production from their power play, along with a new-found ability to win at the Garden (4-0-1 in their past five).

With only two genuine road games between now and the Olympic break, starting Feb. 9, this is as good a time as any to get rolling — whether the team is willing to call it turning a corner or not.

“I think we might have, but I can’t talk about it,” Richards said. “There’s too much hockey. We know as quick as you can go on a run, things can go the other way and they can pile on you.”