LOS ANGELES — If the Rangers were going to encounter the type of malaise that’s marked much of the last month through which the club has won only five of 13 games (5-6-2), better now than in another three weeks, when such stupor will result in immediate expulsion from the playoffs.
For as they begin a three-game swing through California commencing with yet another set of back-to-backs here on Saturday and in Anaheim on Sunday before visiting San Jose on Tuesday, the Rangers still have time to rebuild their game and their psyche before they confront a best-of-seven.
The Blueshirts had a rocky stretch coming out of their bye week in mid-January that largely coincided with Henrik Lundqvist’s descent into mortality. But once the King regained his form, the Rangers steered out of a 3-5 spell into a six-game winning streak that created a comfort zone in relation to a tournament spot.
Now, with Lundqvist set to return either on Saturday or Sunday from the hip injury that’s kept him on the shelf for the past seven games — in which Antti Raanta went 3-3-1 — the issues appear to run a little deeper. The offensive faucet is running in dribs and drabs, accounting for two goals or fewer in eight of the last 13 and an aggregate 31 goals, with 18 produced at even-strength by their forwards. Neutral-zone play is ragged and defenders are having difficulty on their rush reads and coverages. The penalty kill is a five-alarm blaze.
There is a challenge here for the Rangers, the first one of a season in which the Rangers have far exceeded expectations, but are now in some danger of living down to them.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity,” Derek Stepan told The Post. “It’s hard to say how much of this is directly tied into the kind of monster we’ve created with our play at home, but certainly we haven’t been as sharp as we have been almost all year.
“I think it’s fair to say that this is the first time we’re facing adversity as a group, but we can turn this into a positive. We have the opportunity to prove to ourselves that we can overcome adversity, which is something you’re always going to face in the playoffs.
“It’s actually good that we’re facing a test like this, so when we come through it, we’ll be even stronger and have momentum going into the playoffs.”
The Rangers need productivity from Stepan, who has the typographical-error-resembling one goal in 29 games. They need more engagement from Mika Zibanejad, who did play perhaps his most assertive game in Wednesday’s 3-2 MSG defeat to the Islanders since he suffered a broken fibula in November. They could use a return to finishing form from Michael Grabner, who has scored one goal on 25 shots (4 percent) in his last 15 games after getting 26 goals on 122 shots (21.3 percent) in his first 52 contests. Earth, meet the Austrian Express.
And they need better from each of the defensemen, who all have had their low moments regarding coverage, reads and turning over the puck.
“You know what happens? When you go through a stretch like we are, everybody wants to do too much,” Stepan said. “Everyone wants to be the guy to make the difference and pull us out of it.
“But we’re built as a team, we’re built so that one line is going to be the standout one game and another line the next and then the next. We have to get back to that kind of flow and trust.”
And of course the penalty kill unit that cannot get out of its own way, allowing an astonishing 10 goals on 26 disadvantages over the last eight games, at least one per. Incredibly, the Marc Staal-Ryan McDonagh pair has been on for seven of the 10 and for all four over the last three games. Help may be on the way, though, with Dan Girardi nearing a return to the lineup. The PK dysfunction alone may be reason enough for coach Alain Vigneault to reunite the McDonagh-Girardi tandem.
There are decisions and challenges ahead for a Rangers team that can prove whatever doesn’t kill them will make them stronger.