Oliver Bjorkstrand running with chance to be in Rangers top six

Oliver Bjorkstrand didn’t think much about the validation of it all, about the meaning of returning to the Rangers top six in the middle of Saturday’s game after a demotion to the fourth line and a struggle for ice time.Phrases such as “sure” and “I don’t know” and, ultimately, “I guess” filled his answer.But after a 10-game stretch in which Bjorkstrand averaged under 10 minutes of ice time per match, the invisibility of Pavel Dorofeyev — at least when goals are concerned — led to another chance.

Bjorkstrand responded to head coach Mike Sullivan’s initial switch with five goals and six points while with the bottom six and, as usual, the second power-play unit.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.

And when the Rangers entered their five-day break this week, Bjorkstrand had emerged as one of their most productive 5-on-5 players.He sat tied with Alexis Lafrenière and Gabe Perreault for the team lead in even-strength goals (four), and he has the fourth-best expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (0.99) on the Blueshirts.The new-look second line was effective in their loss Monday, and by skating alongside Tye Kartye and J.T.

Miller, Bjorkstrand, with a shot that Sullivan called “one of his greatest assets” in training camp, has a chance to thrive as that unit’s finisher.“You get bumped down, and you want to find a way back,” Bjorkstrand told The Post.“Now you get that opportunity.

… Obviously if you get bumped up, it’s because you’re doing good things and they think you can help out in that way.So in that sense, yeah, it’s good.”The Rangers brought Bjorkstrand in on a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the bet that he could recapture the scoring consistency that defined his ledger until 2025-26.

A 12th-year veteran, he hit at least 20 goals in six of seven seasons from 2018-19 through 2024-25, but that number d...