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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The Marian Gaborik era has come to an end.

The Rangers traded Gaborik, Steven Delisle and Blake Parlett to the Blue Jackets Wednesday afternoon for forwards Derek Dorsett and Derick Brassard, defenseman John Moore and a sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft.

“Got four pieces,” director of player personnel Gordie Clark told Metro in a phone conversation after the deadline passed. “It’s really four pieces.”

Clark stressed the importance of the sixth-round pick as the Rangers selected Carl Hagelin and prospect forward Jesper Fast in the sixth rounds of the 2007 and 2010 drafts.

Yesterday’s blockbuster was the second trade the Rangers made in as many days. The Rangers acquired left wing Ryane Clowe from the Sharks for 2013 second- and third-round picks and a conditional pick in 2014 Tuesday night. Clowe played in Wednesday night’s Garden match against the Penguins.

The acquisition of Dorsett, Brassard and Moore add depth, something the Rangers have lacked this season. Dorsett, 26, has 727 penalty minutes in 280 games. He suffered a fractured clavicle, but Clark told Metro he thought Dorsett could return before the end of the season.

Brassard, the sixth-overall pick in the 2006 Draft, has recorded 169 points in 309 games. Selected 21st overall in the 2009 draft, Moore has scored eight points in 86 NHL games.

“Each of them fit into a position we need,” Clark said. “Dorsett [is an] old-school grinder, hard to play against. [Brassard is a] Top-2 center. John might have been one of the best skating defenseman in the draft. [He] skates like Paul Coffey.”

The deal also gives the Rangers $14.8 million in cap room, which is vital as the restricted free agent deals signed by Hagelin, Derek Stepan and Ryan McDonagh are up this summer. All should expect significant raises.

Gaborik leaves New York having scored 114 goals and 229 points in 255 regular season games. He has totaled 333 goals and 666 points in 757 regular season games with Minnesota and New York.

He scored 42 goals in 2009-10 and finished last season with 41 goals. But he had fallen off this season, totaling just nine goals and 19 points while being shuttled throughout the lineup.

“When somebody wants you and somebody tries to trade you, it’s good somebody wants you on the team,” Gaborik told TSN’s James Duthie during the Canadian network’s TradeCentre broadcast.

When asked by Duthie why the Rangers were struggling this year, Gaborik said, “I don’t know. We weren’t playing consistently enough,” and specifically noted the 25th-ranked power play. “There’s a few factors there.”

Local deals

» The Devils acquired forward Steve Sullivan from the Phoenix Coyotes for a seventh-round pick in June’s draft.

» The Islanders did not make a deal at the deadline.

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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The addition of Rick Nash to a team that finished the 2011-12 regular season with the most points in the Eastern Conference was supposed to bolster an offensive attack and help the Rangers reach their first Stanley Cup final since June 1994.

Instead, a season-long inability to score goals had the Rangers in 10th place in the conference entering last night’s home game against the Hurricanes and suffering from a crisis of confidence.

“Our team saw every good offensive play they could see today,” head coach John Tortorella told reporters in his pregame press conference. The 63 goals the Rangers have scored this season are second fewest in the NHL, ahead of only Columbus and San Jose (both of whom have scored 60 goals this season).

“It’s trying to get some sort of confidence in themselves.”

Equally concerning is that there is not much time to salvage the season. They trail the No. 8 seed Hurricanes by three points and are a point behind the No. 9 seed Islanders, and have just 21 games left.

“We are what we are right now,” Brian Boyle told reporters following the morning skate at the team training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. “We expect more of ourselves. [I] still think we should be confident in ourselves.”

Adding Asham

The Rangers’ two-steps-forward-and-one-step-back season has led to speculation that the organization may look to make personnel changes, most notably the persistent rumors that right wing Marian Gaborik is on the trade block.

However the team is soon to receive an addition, and it will not cost them a player off the roster.

Arron Asham skated Monday morning and told reporters afterward he felt “pretty good.”

“It felt better today than it did [last week] in Winnipeg when I skated. If everything goes [well] it’s just a matter of getting into game shape. Once I’m ready for that, I’ll be ready to come back.”

Brought in to replace Brandon Prust, Asham has only played in 12 games this season. He has one goal and 17 penalty minutes due to lingering back spasms. Asham said this is the first time in his 14-year NHL career he has had a back injury.

The Rangers are 4-7-1 without Asham.

“Just making strides to get better and better, and get back. I can still feel it [but it’s] nothing that I can’t play through,” Asham said. “It hasn’t been fun sitting in the stands watching the team go through up and downs. I want to be in there and do my part. [I’ve] just got to concentrate on my game and be a good cheerleader in the stands and hopefully work my way back into the lineup soon.

“Right now I feel the back could hold up during a game. It’s just a matter of getting into game shape.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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All Marian Gaborik needed was one shot for three weeks’ worth of frustration to vanish. Now the Rangers hope their 40-goal sniper will reappear.

“It feels good,” Gaborik said after his power-play goal 42 seconds into overtime Thursday night was the difference in the Rangers’ 2-1 win over the Islanders.

The Rangers have won four in a row and improved to 12-8-2 this season.

“We stuck with our game plan. We kept working and it’s a huge win for us,” said Michael Del Zotto, who drew the hook from Michael Grabner 21 seconds into the overtime that gave the Rangers the power play.

Playing the point on the power play, Gaborik skated to the top of the right faceoff circle and ripped a drive past a screened Nabokov. The goal was Gaborik’s first since Feb. 14.

“Haven’t scored in a while,” Gaborik said.

The hooking call so incensed the Islanders (10-11-3) that Kyle Okposo received a 10-minute misconduct and the coaching staff was assessed a game misconduct after the loss.

“It sucks,” Jack Capuano said of the penalty. “It’s unfortunate that it comes down to a power play at the end.”

The loss ended the Islanders’ two-game win streak.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 of 28 shots. His only mistake was yielding Grabner’s goal. Grabner one-timed a Colin McDonald feed over Lundqvist’s glove 11:51 into the game for his 10th of the season.

Entering the game, the triumvirate of Grabner, Matt Moulson and John Tavares had scored 34 of the Islanders’ 68 goals this season.

While the Rangers had more total shot attempts (77-55), their suburban rivals were stalwart in their own end. For the most part the Rangers were unable to implement their forecheck game as the majority of shot attempts were from the perimeter.

“They do a great job of blocking shots,” Derek Stepan said of the Islanders. “One of their strengths is that they block shots.

Nabokov’s two toughest saves came in the third period. He stayed back in his crease and did not give Nash any room to shoot after the left wing skated through the Islanders and attempted to stuff a shot past the netminder. Nabokov later swallowed Darroll Powe’s point-blank drive with 6:20 left.

“We had the game in our hands,” Nabokov said. “They were pressuring us because we were up 1-0. [It is] exactly how the playoffs [are].”

The Rangers kept attacking and it paid off when Nash’s eighth goal of the season tied the game with 14:37 expired in the third. He tipped Stepan’s point shot under Nabokov (35 saves).

“It’s pretty easy to anchor two guys who are playing the way they are right now,” Stepan said of his linemates, Nash and Carl Hagelin. “The way Rick brings the puck to the net and the things he can do one-on-one makes my job really easy. We just had to get one through. I’m looking to get something on net and Rick makes a good tip.”

The goal energized the Rangers and set the stage for Gaborik’s game-winner. The Rangers finished the game 1-for-3 on the power play and are 8-for-34 on the man advantage dating back to Feb. 17. Not coincidentally, the Rangers are 5-3-1 in that stretch.

“He’s made some good plays,” head coach John Tortorella said about Gaborik being on the point on the power play. “He scores a goal tonight. [He] made a couple plays in the last game [against the Flyers]. Our power play, the last 10-12 games, it’s been finding its way. Gabby did a nice job there, so it opens up a lot of different situations that I can use with two power plays if Gabby plays the point on one.”

Follow Rangers beat writer Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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