Rangers understand importance of setting the tone on home ice after last years MSG nadir

The scenes at the Garden last season — especially at the end of it all — were jarring.This wasn’t the home-ice advantage the Rangers envisioned, the venue that always remained energized for deep postseason runs stretching into the final weeks of spring. Instead, empty seats were scattered throughout the arena.

“Fire Drury” chants rang out on occasion in the middle of the year, referencing the fanbase’s desire for change at the top of the front office that assembled the roster that ultimately went 14-20-7 at home — the second-worst mark in the league.The Blueshirts’ 35 points marked their fewest at the Garden across a full season since 2003-04 (33).

They had a minus-19 goal differential, started 0-6-1 and didn’t manage a goal in front of the home crowd until the fourth game.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.The way last year went gives them “a little more extra motivation,” Alexis Lafrenière said.

Braden Schneider, referencing the Knicks championship run, added that “there’s no better place to play when you’re winning and you’re in the playoffs” — and that the Rangers need to make playing at home a strength.And beginning Thursday, when the Rangers host the Lightning in their home opener following a shutout loss to the Bruins that opened the season on a sour note, they’ll have a chance to start shaking one of the lingering narratives. “Everyone knows we struggled last year, especially at home, so it’s a big game for us,” Lafrenière told The Post after the Rangers practiced Wednesday in Tarrytown. It wasn’t that long ago when the Rangers had one of the best home records.

In 2023-24, they went 30-11-0 at the Garden — finishing with the second-most home points (60) — and collected a plus-29 goal differential.But that’s when everything started to crumble, when the first-year boost of Peter Laviolet...