Rangers working on fixing this weakness as playoffs near

Like any NHL team gearing up for the playoffs, the Rangers want to be at the top of all aspects of their game.

The fact that they’ve stayed atop the league for much of the season despite being one of the most inconsistent teams at five-on-five, however, is a testament to how much other parts of their identity have successfully overcompensated.

That does not make it any less concerning that the Rangers went 178:47 over four games without a five-on-five goal, even if Artemi Panarin ended the drought with a crucial game-tying score en route to a 3-2 shootout victory over the Islanders on Saturday at the Garden.

“In five-on-five work, we’re pushing, we’re looking,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “There’s a lot of chances. Without much power-play time, there’s 93 attempts at the net tonight. We’re in the offensive zone, we’re looking for it, it’s just not dropping maybe as easily as we would like. There were some good chances, especially early on. We just couldn’t capitalize on them.

“We’re getting the looks, so that makes me feel good about that, but we also need to bury them.”

For those counting at home, the Rangers nearly went nine consecutive periods without notching a five-on-five goal.