It is not a surprise that Rick Nash is top-line wing.

Carl Hagelin and Derek Stepan being his linemates might be, especially when considering the high-end talent that makes up the 2013 edition of the Rangers.

But according to head coach John Tortorella, Hagelin and Stepan have earned the job on merit.

“I just don’t think they’re afraid,” Tortorella said during his pregame press conference. “I think sometimes when you’re playing with top players, you end up trying to get them the puck. You just change your game.

“Hags is a very confident guy. Step is a guy who’s been here, understands the personnel. I thought played his best game of the year in [the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout win] Boston [Tuesday night]. He was killing penalties, everything. Strong on the puck. He’s a guy that needs to be able to do that. We have him as a second-line center for this year. Right now he’s on the top line. He can handle that.”

Isles dealing with offensive issues

It would be hard to overstate the importance of last night’s Garden match for the Islanders.

Facing their urban rivals for the second time in a week, the Islanders entered Thursday night’s game with an 0-5-0 record in February. The slide has the Islanders last in the Atlantic Division and they reside in the league’s cellar with Washington.

Among the primary reasons for the Islanders’ nosedive has been an offensive outage. Opponents have outscored the Islanders 20-9 in the five games. Of their nine goals, five have come at even strength. The remaining four were scored on the power play.

Head coach Jack Capuano believes the offensive problems are twofold.

“Five-on-five, there’s a couple things,” Capuano said. “It’s not about structural where we’re at. It’s about defending. Go back. The [Thomas] Vanek goal, the [Eric] Staal goal, I mean we’re right there but we’re not strong enough in front of our net. We have to be stronger. We have to defend with our sticks and making sure we’re boxing guys out.”

The other issue has been a lack of production from the second, third and fourth lines. The top line of Brad Boyes, John Tavares and Matt Moulson have combined for 16 goals and 37 points. The remaining three lines have recorded 15 goals and 36 points.

“The offensive side, we tweaked the lines a little bit like we did early on in the season,” Capuano said. “We’re going to have to get some secondary scoring, especially on the road where their top ‘D’ against our top lines. The other lines have to get going to help us out a little bit.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The Swedes were sweet.

On a night in which the Rangers did not play crisp hockey, Carl Hagelin and Henrik Lundqvist were the reasons the Blueshirts left the Garden with a 5-1 win over the Lightning on Sunday. The Rangers are over .500 (6-5-0) for the first time this season.

Hagelin scored two goals and Lundqvist made 19 saves. Ryan Callahan’s unassisted semi-breakaway goal at 15:13 of the first was the game-winner, and Arron Asham potted his first goal as a Ranger with seven minutes left. Rick Nash scored his third with 8.3 seconds left.

“A guy like Ash, what he does a lot of players won’t do it. Those type of guys, who fight for their teammates and do all the dirty things in the game, they score a goal [and their teammates] are certainly happy for him,” head coach John Tortorella said. “Good for him. I’m happy for him.”

Hagelin, part of a newly-formed top line with Derek Stepan and Rick Nash, opened the scoring at 31 seconds by redirecting a Nash shot past Tampa starter Mathieu Garon.

Marc Staal chipped the puck ahead to Hagelin, who raced toward the Eighth Avenue goal with the defenseman and his linemates in tow. The second-year left wing snapped a low shot past Garon for his third of the season — all coming against the Lightning. He scored his first goal of the season in the Rangers’ 3-2 win over the Lightning in Tampa on Feb. 2. It was his first goal since March 15.

“I saw a lot of guys focus on [Nash] and [Stepan] and [Staal] joining the rush,” Hagelin said. “I didn’t really have a lane to pass — you want to make a pass if you’re on a 4-on-2 — but they were all occupied by their ‘D’ so I saw an opening five hole and it went in.”

Garon only lasted 23:58 spanning the first and second periods before being replaced by Anders Lindback. Garon allowed the first three Rangers goals, while Lindback surrendered Asham’s marker. The Rangers outshot Tampa, 32-20, and the Lightning’s top line of Steven Stamkos (minus-2 in 19:03), Martin St. Louis (minus-3 in 19:12) and Nate Thompson (minus-4 in 13:12) only generated eight shot attempts.

“This one was no good,” Lightning head coach Guy Boucher said. “We were trying our Hail Marys and hope play and were trying to cheat to get back in it. If we do that we don’t deserve it.”

The Rangers tied a season high in goals last night. They scored five against Toronto on Jan. 26. The Rangers are 4-0 this season when they score at least four goals.

“That’s what we needed,” Hagelin said. “It’s important for every guy to chip in. It’s always good when everyone contributes.”

While the offensive outburst will please Tortorella, there were defensive breakdowns in the first 40 minutes that are concerning. The Rangers allowed five odd-man rushes in the first period and the Lightning controlled play in the second period, with a 10-8 advantage in shots. That statistic does not begin to acknowledge the territorial advantage Tampa had.

“It’s a track meet and we can’t get into a track meet with them,” Tortorella said of the odd-man rushes. “I thought we gathered ourselves as the game went on and defended much better. Still had some turnovers but I thought our neutral zone play was much better as we went on our way.”

The Rangers entered the third with a 3-1 lead because Lundqvist put on Vezina-quality netminding. Tampa Bay’s lone goal — Vincent Lecavalier’s fifth of the season at 14:42 of the second — was directly attributable to an awful line change and an inability to clear the zone.

“Hank was great,” Nash said. “That’s why he’s the best goalie in the league and winning awards for it. He kept us in the game and he was unbelievable.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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