Sometimes, the best lessons are the ones that are self-taught.

Following an uncharacteristically subpar performance in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, in which Dan Girardi was on the ice for all five goals in the Rangers’ 5-2 loss, head coach John Tortorella opted not to have a meeting with the top pair defenseman.

“I didn’t even talk to him,” Tortorella said in his Tuesday morning press conference at the Garden in the hours prior to Game 3. “He’s going to play his best game.”

Long one of the Rangers’ leaders, Girardi has earned Tortorella’s confidence with his play and reliability.

“It depends on the person,” Tortorella said. “It depends where he is as a player, experience-wise. I don’t have to say one word to Dan Girardi. If that’s a John Moore, certainly we will try to help him along the way – maybe show him so tape, whatever it may be.

“With [Girardi], he’s one of the better defensemen in the National Hockey League that had a tough night. He knows it. He doesn’t need to hear it from any coach at all as far as what needs to be done.”

No need to hold serve?

The popular thinking is that the Rangers need to win the next two games at home to get back into the series.

Unsurprisingly, Tortorella dismissed the notion.

“I’m looking at this as one game,” Tortorella said, when asked about the prospects of the Rangers coming back from an 0-2 deficit for the second straight series. “We just want to win a game and crawl back in to make it a series. So all of the stuff as far as the history and what we did the last time, we’re not paying attention to it.

“We made corrections [at Monday’s practice in Greenburgh, N.Y.]. We felt we played a pretty good hockey game [Sunday afternoon]. It certainly wasn’t a 5-2 game. We want to win a game and we’ll see where we go.”

Powe, Staal updates

Darroll Powe and Marc Staal were part of a group of players that participated in the optional skate at the Garden Tuesday morning. Both Powe and Staal have not played since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Capitals.

As per organizational policy, the Rangers have not announced the reasons for their absence. Powe was elbowed in the head by Washington’s Joel Ward during Game 3 of that series when the Rangers center checked the Capitals right wing into the boards.

Staal has been sidelined with a potential reoccurrence of symptoms from the eye injury he suffered in the 4-2 win over the Flyers on March 5. The defenseman was struck near the eye by a Kimmo Timonen shot.

“Feel good. It’s good to be back on the ice, skating with the guys,” Powe said. “It’s a few days of skating. I felt pretty good. I’m just skating, working out and try to get back in the lineup. The goal is to get back as soon as I can.”

Staal was unavailable for comment.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The facts paint a bleak picture for the Rangers.

For the second straight series, they return to the Garden in a 0-2 hole. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there has not been a team in NHL history that has won consecutive Stanley Cup playoff series after spotting opponents the first two games as the Rangers have against the Capitals and the Bruins.

The Rangers have been outscored 8-4 in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Only three players — Brian Boyle, Carl Hagelin and Anton Stralman — have a positive rating after the first two games of the series. The power play is 0-for-8 in the first two games and 2-for-36 in the playoffs.

And their Vezina-finalist goaltender appeared to injure his shoulder in the final moments of Sunday afternoon’s 5-2 loss in Game 2.

With all of that said, head coach John Tortorella painted a much different picture.

“I thought we played a much better game in the second game,” Tortorella told reporters after the Rangers’ practice in Greenburgh, N.Y. on Monday in preparation for Tuesday’s Game 3. “I’m very optimistic as far as where we’re going as a team.”

Tuesday’s game is at the Garden, where the Rangers are 3-0 in these playoffs and have outscored opponents 9-6 in those games. The Rangers finished the regular season with a 16-6-2 mark at the Garden compared to a maudlin 10-12-2 road record.

The biggest reason for Tortorella’s confidence is a Henrik Lundqvist, who appears likely to play in Game 3. Lundqvist, the reigning Vezina winner, tweaked his arm in the third period of Sunday’s loss while making a diving save.

“I landed on it awkwardly and it hurt a little bit but it’s under control,” Lundqvist said. “Everybody is sore. It’s the playoffs. You can’t sit out because it’s hurting a little bit. It happens. You have to do the right things to keep it going.”

In order to extend their season past the next two games, the Rangers will have to be decidedly better defensively than they were in the first two games, in which the Bruins attempted 143 shots towards Lundqvist.

To that end, it appears as if the customary top defensive pairing of Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi will be reunited. According to reports, the two skated together during Monday’s practice session.

Split up prior to Game 1 in order to have a strong defender on the ice against Boston’s top two lines, the two logged their accustomed ice time while partnered with Anton Stralman and Michael Del Zotto, respectively. McDonagh finished with a goal in Game 1 in 55:55 of ice time in the series, while Girardi is minus-4 with an assist in 51:34 spanning the first two games.

Girardi was on the ice for four of Boston’s goals in Game 2, including Brad Marchand’s top-of-the-crease tap-in 26 seconds into the third period which gave the Bruins an insurmountable, 4-2, lead.

“We can defend,” Tortorella said. “It surprises me that we made some mistakes that we very rarely do on simple coverages. The third and fourth goal, they’re simple coverages and we beat ourselves.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Dan Girardi summed up the impending Rangers-Bruins Eastern Conference semifinal series with one word: physical.

“It’s definitely going to be physical for sure,” Dan Girardi said following a spirited practice at the Rangers’ training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. Wednesday in preparation for the best-of-seven series which begins Thursday night at the T.D. Garden in Boston.

This will be the 10th time the Original Six brethren have met in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Rangers have lost six of the nine series, but won the last meeting, a five-game elimination of the Bruins way back in the 1973 quarterfinals.

The Rangers won two of the three regular season matchups between the long time rivals, including a 4-3 shootout win in Boston on Feb. 12, the last time the teams met. Both teams finished with nine goals scored in the three games.

“[We played] them three times in the first couple weeks and that’s pretty much it,” Girardi said.

At first glance, the Bruins and Rangers appear to be mirror images of each other. The Bruins ended the regular season with one more goal than the Rangers (127-126). The Rangers finished the regular season ranked third in the NHL in hits (1,413) and sixth in blocked shots (773), while Boston was 10th (1,200) and 22nd (650) in those categories.

“I think the teams are pretty similar,” Girardi said. “Both teams want to get on the forecheck, create some momentum that way.”

When the Bruins are at their best, Boston’s top line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Nathan Horton is able to use their size to wear down their opponents in the offensive zone. The trio totaled 29 points in the seven-game Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Maple Leafs.

“It’s going to be a pretty good challenge for us,” Girardi said. “I think they’re going to do their best to get in front of [Henrik Lundqvist] and bring pucks to the net. We just have to be strong down the walls, make sure they can’t get to the front and just be strong. [We] can’t let them push us around in front of the net. We have to make sure [it's clear] for Hankie in front – let him [see] shots.”

Like the Bruins, the Rangers also have size. Since the trade deadline acquisitions of Ryane Clowe from San Jose and the triumvirate of Derick Brassard, Derek Dorsett and John Moore from Columbus, the Rangers are 13-7.

“We’re able to play the way we want to play more consistently because I think we have a deeper lineup,” head coach John Tortorella said. “I think we played our best game of the seven game series in Game 7. I’m hoping that transfers over to the start of the [Bruins] series, where I can use the whole bench.”

One of the themes in the series win over Washington was the Rangers’ secondary scoring. While the Capitals kept the Rangers’ stars in check, the Southeast Division champions did not have an answer for the Blueshirts’ depth.

Brassard totaled nine points in the seven games. Mats Zuccarello and Carl Hagelin finished with five points (one goal and four assists) and four points (two goals and two assists), respectively. Linemates Brian Boyle and Taylor Pyatt recorded three points (two goals and an assist) each.

“For a team, it helps when your second [and] third line guys contribute, as our team did, but for the top end guys, that’s why they are where they are [as] top players because they want that,” Tortorella said. “So I don’t think it takes any pressure off them. I think they want to be the person to make a difference.”

One such player is Rick Nash. Nash only had two assists against the Capitals, but he did lead the team with 22 shots in the seven games. Tortorella believes the left wing is due to break out.

“He played really well in Game 7, and really didn’t have many bad games in the series. In Washington he didn’t finish,” Tortorella said. “He certainly wasn’t totally on but he’s very close. I thought he played very well in Game 7. He’s playing and I think he’s going to be a really big part of this as we enter into Boston.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Let’s just say head coach John Tortorella does not have any use for the Capitals’ grousing regarding the officiating in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

“We get everybody and their brother whining out there in Washington about what happened in that series, and I think that’s a big reason why they lose that series,” Tortorella said, unprompted, in response to a question about the importance of playoff experience during his post-practice press conference Wednesday afternoon in Greenburgh, N.Y.

The Capitals were bothered by what they perceived was league favoritism toward the Rangers in the series. The Rangers had 28 opportunities on the man advantage in the seven games compared the Capitals’ 16.

Following the conclusion of the series, Alex Ovechkin told Slava Malamud of the Russian-language newspaper Sport-Express “The refereeing … you understand it yourself. How can there be no penalties at all [on one team] during the playoffs? I am not saying there was a phone call from [the league], but someone just wanted Game 7 — for the ratings. You know, the lockout, escrow, the league needs to make profit. I don’t know whether the refs were predisposed against us or the league. But to not give obvious penalties [against the Rangers], while for us any little thing was immediately penalized.”

Yesterday, Capitals general manager George McPhee backed his captain.

“I don’t think there’s a league conspiracy, but it sure didn’t feel right. Alex wasn’t wrong. I talked to them during the series, but at some point you stop. They’ll referee the way they want to referee,” McPhee told the Washington Post. “What we didn’t get a chance to do was go on the power play very often, and it was a real strength of ours. It was real good during the season. We didn’t get many power plays during the series; I don’t know why. We had to kill too many penalties; I don’t know why. I didn’t think that part of the game from the league standpoint was all that good.

“I didn’t like the refereeing, but if you complain about it during the series and you’re accused of trying to gain an edge. If you complain about it after a series is over, then it’s whining and sour grapes.”

Yankee Stadium hockey

The House That George Paid For With Taxpayer Money will accommodate hockey next January.

Yankee Stadium will host two games as part of the NHL’s Coors Light Stadium Series, the league announced yesterday. The Devils will host the Rangers on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 at 12:30 p.m., and the Islanders will meet the Rangers three nights later.

The Rangers will be the visiting team in both games.

“The innovative nature of the Stadium Series affords the opportunity to have all three NHL teams in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area play, outdoors, at one of the most-celebrated stadiums in the world,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “We’ll be able to create a multi-faceted, multi-day experience for our fans, and we thank the teams, Coors Light, the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium for their support of this memorable NHL event.”

The two games at Yankee Stadium are part of a four-game series of outdoor games sponsored by the beer conglomerate. Previously, the NHL announced a Jan. 25, 2014, game between the Ducks and Kings at Dodger Stadium, and a March 1, 2014 match involving the Blackhawks and Penguins at Soldier Field.

These outdoor games are separate from the Jan. 1, 2014, Toronto-Detroit Winter Classic, which will take place at Michigan Stadium. That game was scheduled to take place this past January but had to be postponed due to the NHL lockout.

Information regarding how to purchase tickets will be released shortly.

Injury updates

Ryane Clowe, Darroll Powe and Marc Staal did not practice. There was no update on their conditions. Clowe has not played since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Powe missed the final four games of the series, while Staal only played in Game 3.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Head coach John Tortorella was resigned to the fact Chris Kreider was the best solution to a bad situation.

“The thing we settled on was [Kreider’s] speed,” Tortorella said in his pregame press conference before last night’s match against the Panthers. “We want to try to play with more pace so that’s who we go with.”

Kreider was called up for the fourth time this season Wednesday in response to Brian Boyle’s injury in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Flyers. Tortorella said Boyle “won’t be in” the next two games — Friday in Buffalo and Sunday afternoon against the Devils.

Tortorella had Kreider on a fourth line with Darroll Powe and Arron Asham. When asked by Metro New York if he envisioned Kreider skating on Brad Richards’ line — Richards centered Mats Zuccarello and Ryane Clowe — Tortorella said, “I’m not going to go over my lines with you.”

Kreider has three points (two goals and an assist) in 17 games with the Rangers. He recorded 23 points (12 goals and 11 assists) in 48 games with the Whale. However, Tortorella has routinely espoused his concern Kreider’s development not be stymied by the Rangers’ need for depth and offense.

“He’s played some games [with the Rangers this season],” Tortorella said of Kreider. “There [are] a number of players we talked about. I’m still not crazy about bringing a kid here.

“His asset is his speed, especially. That’s what we go with.”

Fighting for No. 8

The facts are what they are.

The Rangers are holding on to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining in the abbreviated season. For a group who entered the season believing itself a Stanley Cup contender, the season has been tinged with frustration and confusion.

But Tortorella does not sense panic with his group.

“We’re fine, we’re fine,” Tortorella said when asked how the coaching staff minimizes pressure on the players. “Go about your business. Believe in the team, which I do. Just go about our business.”

Rangers notes …

» The organization announced Thursday morning it agreed to terms with free agent forward Michael Kantor. Kantor, 21, played last season for the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves where he recorded 20 goals and 33 points in 56 games. He added four points and 12 penalty minutes in nine playoff games.

» Ryan Callahan won the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. It marked the fourth time in his career that Callahan won the prestigious award named for a New York City police officer who was wounded in duty in 1988.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The Garden isn’t the only Midtown entity undergoing a transformation.

The Rangers entered last night’s nationally televised home date against the Penguins having been completely overhauled with the deadline additions of Ryane Clowe, Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard and John Moore.

With 13 games remaining in this abbreviated season and the Rangers two points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, time is running out for a team that hasn’t come close to living up to expectations.

What does head coach John Tortorella need from the newcomers?

“We don’t fill [them] with a bunch of thoughts,” Tortorella said in his pregame press conference. “Give them the foundation of how we play and we let [them] play. It’s just time to play.”

Tortorella, who said he participated in the decision-making process, believes the acquisitions will add depth and grittiness to a team that has lacked those attributes. Tortorella added that he spoke with Rick Nash about Brassard, as the two were teammates in Columbus.

Clowe, Brassard and Moore were all in the lineup Wednesday night. Clowe skated with Mats Zuccarello and Brad Richards, while Brassard centered Carl Hagelin and Brian Boyle on the third line. Moore replaced Roman Hamrlik on the third defense pair with Steve Eminger.

He’s a guy that certainly brings some jam to our lineup. Hasn’t scored this year but has been able to score. A good leader, good size,” Tortorella said of Clowe, before explaining what he thinks the former Shark and Dorsett will provide. “[He] and what I think we get with Dorsett, it gives us a little bit of the grind we’re missing right now; a little bit different than last year. Brassard and Moore, we gets some skill and skating.

“The deal helps us with depth, period — forward and defense,” Tortorella said. “The information given to me about Moore, just a fantastic skater. Learning the game. I think we can teach him the game. We need depth on our blueline.”

No falling out

Tortorella was quick to disavow any notion he and Marian Gaborik had a falling out.

“Gabby and I have a great relationship. I hope [the media] don’t go that way and interfere in our relationship because it’s a really good one, no matter what’s gone on with him,” Tortorella said. “He’s a good man. I’ll miss him.

“I respect him. I believe he’ll get his game back. You can see his game coming. So it’s a tough one for me because I really like the guy. I hope it works for him.”

Kreider gone

Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast were sent down to AHL Connecticut before the game, while J.T. Miller was sent down then immediately recalled. Miller was a scratch along with Hamrlik and Matt Gilroy.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Thirty-five games spanning two-and-a-half months have shown that the 2013 New York Rangers are flawed.

But flawed teams can qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“We’ve underachieved so far this year,” Ryan Callahan said after the Rangers’ 4-2 win over the Jets Monday night at the Garden. The win guarantees that the Rangers will wake up today as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, despite the Islanders’ 3-1 win over the Devils at the Prudential Center.

The Rangers and Islanders each have 37 points. Both trail the seventh-seeded Devils by two points. The Rangers have one fewer regulation loss than the Islanders.

The Rangers have a game in hand on both the Islanders and Devils. The Islanders and Devils have 12 games remaining this season. The Rangers have 13 left.

“We just have to make it and that’s the attitude we have right now,” Callahan said. “We got to get into the playoffs and it’s a new season. You saw it last year.”

In what was the most important game of the season up to this point, the Rangers ended a two-game losing streak in which they were unable to register a single goal.

Prior to the game, head coach John Tortorella reshuffled the forward lines and defensive pairs. It paid off, as the top line of Callahan, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash combined for eight points.

Callahan finished with four points (a goal and three assists). Rick Nash scored a goal and added an assist. Derek Stepan, who has been the Rangers’ best player this season, scored two goals.

“Cally had a heck of a game. That makes the chemistry certainly work itself out and Rick has been a special player since he’s been here,” Stepan said.

Stepan opened the scoring 19 seconds into the game with his 11th goal of the season, and his second goal of the game was the game-winner.

Stepan’s first, a snapshot that beat Ondrej Pavelec (31 saves) five-hole, ended the Rangers’ shutout streak at 128:06.

“Getting that goal right away, Step’s goal, [was] a pretty good confidence booster,” Dan Girardi said. “We finally get a goal. We know we can put it in the net.”

But for all of the positive feelings Stepan’s goal created, the Rangers trailed 2-1 early in the second and were down two men after Mats Zuccarello (high-sticking) and Girardi (tripping) took two-minute minors 1:21 apart.

But as his penalty expired, Zuccarello came out of the box and made a backhand touch pass to an oncoming Callahan. The two forwards came in on a two-on-one against Tobias Enstrom. The Winnipeg defenseman sprawled to the ice to take away the pass, but Callahan held onto the puck and cut toward the middle of the ice before tucking the puck past Pavelec.

“We get some fortunate bounces,” Tortorella said. “It certainly sparked us. As far as Ryan Callahan, it’s a huge play in the game. Not only killing the penalties but [the] wherewithal to kill and keep the puck and score a big goal like that. I thought we took off from there. I thought we took over the game from there.”

And, he hopes, maybe found some of the qualities that marked the 2011-12 team.

“I think they have confidence,” Tortorella said. “It’s just when something doesn’t go right for them in the game, we lost a little bit of that quick resiliency. Maybe tonight we find a way to come back; maybe this was a good lesson for us. They have to grab something to keep themselves aware that we’re not dead yet here because [an opponent] scored.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The season-long chemistry experiment for the Rangers continues.

Head coach John Tortorella reshuffled the forward lines and defense pairings prior to Monday night’s Garden matchup against the Jets in an attempt to create units that can find the solution to the Rangers season-long offensive outage.

The Rangers have scored a league-low 75 goals.

“I get asked [about the lack of offensive production] every day,” Tortorella said. “I don’t have an answer for you. We’ll continue to try.”

Ryan Callahan, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash comprised the first line. The second line was made up of recently signed Mats Zuccarello, Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik.

Brian Boyle, who Tortorella said would alternate between the wing and center, was on the third line with J.T. Miller and Carl Hagelin. Darroll Powe centered Chris Kreider and Taylor Pyatt.

“He’s done it before,” Tortorella said of Boyle switching between the wing and center. “His past couple games — past two out of three games — he’s played pretty well.”

On the back end, he opened with Anton Stralman and Ryan McDonagh. Dan Girardi and Michael Del Zotto made up the second pair, while Steve Eminger and Roman Hamrlik with the third unit.

Forward Arron Asham and defenseman Matt Gilroy were scratched.

“No,” Tortorella said when asked if Asham had either reinjured himself or played himself out of the lineup. Tortorella did expound on his answer.

Lee signed by Isles

Prior to last night’s game at the Devils, the Islanders announced prospect forward Andres Lee signed a two-year entry-level contract. Lee, a forward from Notre Dame will play with the Islanders instead of being assigned to AHL Bridgeport.

“He’s going to play,” head coach Jack Capuano told reporters at the early skate. Lee recorded 116 points in three seasons with Notre Dame. “He’s going to get his opportunity here shortly.”

The Islanders also announced prospect center Ryan Strome was assigned to AHL Bridgeport, and defenseman Joe Finley was placed on the injured reserve retroactive to March 22 with an undisclosed injury.

Strome, the fifth pick in the 2011 draft, led the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara IceDogs with 94 points in 53 regular season games. He recorded three points in Niagara’s five game, first round series loss to the Oshawa Generals in the OHL Playoffs.

Deadline day approaches

Twenty-eight of the league’s 30 teams are alive for a playoff berth. The trade deadline is Wednesday.

With time dwindling to bolster teams in the final days of the regular season, three minor deals were announced yesterday. Chicago acquired center Michal Handzus from San Jose in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Philadelphia traded Harry Zolnierczyk to Anaheim for Jay Rosehill. The Kings landed defenseman Robyn Regehr from Buffalo Sabres in exchange for two second-round picks.

Those deals may be the precursor to a major one involving the Flames and Maple Leafs. According to multiple reports, the Flames and Leafs are talking about a deal that would send to Toronto.

Other names believed to be on the trade market are Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeester and Sharks forward Ryane Clowe.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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Is Rick Nash ailing?

Per Rangers head coach John Tortorella, the answer is “none of your business.”

Prior to Sunday  night’s nationally televised game against the Capitals, Tortorella refused to answer questions about Nash’s health, saying, “I’m not discussing injuries.” Following the warmup in which all players participated, Nash played and Chris Kreider was scratched.

The top line left wing was checked from behind by Boston’s Milan Lucic in the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout win last Tuesday. He played 24:59 in Thursday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Islanders.

“He’s banged up. We’ll see how he is in warmup and see if he’s going to play,” Tortorella said. “I’m not going to talk about injuries at all this year, so there’s no sense in asking about that stuff.”

Nash did not practice Saturday, leading to the team calling up Kreider from AHL Connecticut one day after being sent down. Kreider played in the Whale’s 4-1 win over the Portland Pirates Friday night.

Before the call-up, Tortorella was emphatic that it was imperative for Kreider’s development that he play as much as possible. He had been averaging 10:17 of ice time in seven games with the Rangers this season.

“We asked them [if there was anyone ready for a call-up],” Tortorella said. “That’s who they told me.”

Nash entered the game with 11 points (three goals and eight assists), tied with Marian Gaborik for the team lead in that category. He is averaging 21:08 of ice time a game, including 48:26 on the power play.

Penalty kill working well

Special teams haven’t been all bad for the Rangers.

The Rangers penalty-killing units entered the game 11th in the league with an 83 percent success rate, and had killed the last 12 power plays against.

“I think [we’re] a bit more aggressive, more consistently,” Tortorella said. “I tried to keep the [penalty-killing] pairs together, especially upfront just to get some sort of familiarity and I think it’s helped.”

He acknowledged the importance of the man-down units against Washington. In their last six games, the Capitals had scored eight power play goals on 15 opportunities. The hot streak has seen Washington rise to fourth in the league on the power play with a 27.1 percent success rate.

“That’s a pretty good power play tonight, too,” Tortorella said.

First look at Caps

The first of three meetings between the former Patrick Division rivals marked the initial glimpse of the Adam Oates-led Capitals.

Washington hired Oates in June to be the franchise’s 16th head coach after Dale Hunter resigned following the playoffs. Oates had been an assistant coach with the Devils the last two seasons and served in the same capacity with the Lightning in 2009-10.

When he replaced Bruce Boudreau, Hunter applied a defense-first style. Oates is attempting to implement an offensive style to take advantage of the talents of Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom.

“I have no idea about Washington,” Tortorella said. “No idea. I have no idea. I don’t care about Washington. I care about our club.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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It is not the quantity of goals Rick Nash has scored, it’s the quality of his chances.

Head coach John Tortorella is not concerned that the power forward entered last night’s match against the Lightning tied with Brad Richards, Ryan Callahan, J.T. Miller and Michael Del Zotto for third on the Rangers with two goals. Tortorella pointed to the quality of Nash’s shots and that he leads the Rangers with 39 shots. Nash’s seven points are second-most on the team behind Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards, who have nine each.

“Nash only has two goals but we have a pretty comprehensive sheet as far as offensive chances and offensive opportunities. He leads our team in that,” Tortorella said. “I think there’s more finish. There’s more finish to it. But even though he has two goals, he’s been around the puck. He’s been around a lot of our opportunities in the first 10 games.”

Neither of Nash’s goals have come on the power play. Among the primary reasons he was acquired from Columbus was to bolster the man advantage units. Nash has five shots in 37:16 of power play time.

According to Tortorella, Nash has passed up on chances while getting used to a new position. The Rangers have Nash stationed along the half boards compared to the down low presence he was in Columbus. Tortorella thinks the additional ice time will give Nash more of an opportunity to use his shot.

“Just watching tape, he has made some passes where we would like him to shoot,” Tortorella said. “He has had some opportunities on top of the circles; he’s trying to make the extra pass.

“Where he has been on the offense, he has been all over the sheets. His game is bringing pucks to the net. That’s a big part of his game. There will be some away from the net. He just shoots the pucks.”

Youth is served

Tortorella has routinely said that he tries to “stay out of the way” of the offensive instincts of young players.

But what about NHL players acquired during an in-season trade such as Darroll Powe? Is there an accelerated teaching process for a player who has played 296 NHL games spanning five seasons with the Flyers and the Wild?

“He’s learning our system. So we’ve done a lot of coaching there,” Tortorella said. “Really with all three of them [Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller and Powe]. They are three guys who have been infused into our lineup in the past couple games so we’re spending quite a bit of time with them.”

Notes …

» Dan Girardi returned to the lineup after missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury. Stu Bickel, Brian Boyle and Steve Eminger were scratched. Tampa scratched LW Ryan Malone and defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron and Brendan Mikkelson.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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