NHL

McDonagh finding niche with Rangers

When the Rangers dealt Scott Gomez to the Canadiens after the 2008-09 season, they were happy to rid themselves of the remaining five years on his hefty contract.

But one of the pieces the Blueshirts received in the deal was defenseman Ryan McDonagh, whom Montreal selected 12th overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. McDonagh, who signed with the Rangers before the start of the season and saw his first NHL action Jan. 7 against Dallas, tonight will get his first chance to play against the Canadiens in MonTreal (he faced the Habs on Tuesday at the Garden), though the 21-year-old said the trade doesn’t give him any extra motivation.

“I get up for every game,” McDonagh said. “Right now I’m still wide-eyed, so I don’t need any extra motivation to get up for a game. It’s still exciting.”

In his first four games with the Rangers, McDonagh has impressed, and is a plus-2 in an average of a little over 11 minutes of ice time. That he has been able to step in and contribute right away hasn’t surprised center Derek Stepan, who played with McDonagh for two years at Wisconsin after playing against him for three years in high school in Minnesota.

“Not one bit,” Stepan said. “Off the ice he’s a quiet guy, real nice . . . [but] on the ice, he plays exactly the way the team’s identity is, so he fits in perfectly.”

McDonagh, billed as a traditional, stay-at-home defenseman, has also impressed coach John Tortorella, who heaped praise on him after Thursday’s 1-0 victory over Vancouver at the Garden.

“All I know is McDonagh, each game that he’s played, he’s getting better,” Tortorella said. “The thing I liked about his game [against Vancouver] was he wasn’t timid, as far as the neutral zone, as far as his gaps, against a solid hockey club.”

Roughly six months removed from signing with the Rangers, McDonagh admitted while his time in the AHL prepared him for what it would take to succeed in the NHL, he never thought he’d be enjoying it so much.

“As far as the style and pace, it’s probably been what I’ve expected, the tempo and everything,” McDonagh said, “but I never expected it to be this fun, to be honest with you. We’re playing some big games and winning some big games. I’ve never had this much fun playing hockey.”

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Given the combination of Henrik Lundqvist’s struggles in his last seven starts in Montreal (5.17 goals against average, .841 save percentage) and the Rangers playing host to the Atlantic Division-leading Flyers tomorrow night, there is a good chance backup Martin Biron will start in net for the Blueshirts tonight. . . . Tortorella gave six players (forwards Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust, Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Dubinsky and defensemen Marc Staal and Dan Girardi) the day off from practice yesterday.

tbontemps@nypost.com