VANCOUVER, British Columbia — It is nominally the Rangers’ third pair, but over the small sample size of the five most recent games in which Keith Yandle and Dylan McIlrath have skated as a tandem, the case can be made they have formed the club’s most perfect union.

On the left, there is the offense-minded Yandle, who has played his most effective hockey as a Ranger since he was united with McIlrath on a consistent basis beginning with the Nov. 27 match in Boston. On the right, there is the defense-oriented McIlrath, who has been much more than a stereotypical bruiser since getting the chance to play regularly in conjunction with Kevin Klein’s abdominal strain.

“I think the ‘offense-defense’ nature of our pair has had something to do with how I’ve been playing and my comfort level on the ice,” Yandle said after Tuesday’s practice in advance of Wednesday’s match against the Canucks. “It reminds me when I played for a long time in Phoenix with Derek Morris.

“The way Dylan makes his reads in the defensive zone, the way he’s going to be back for me, and the way he has my back, it’s made for a pretty good pairing. Dylan’s attention to detail, especially in the defensive area, has been very impressive.”

Beginning with that Black Friday match punctuated by McIlrath’s fight against Matt Beleskey after the Bruins winger’s reckless check broke Derek Stepan’s ribs, the rookie has been in the lineup and paired with Yandle for five of six games. McIlrath was a healthy scratch on Nov. 30, but has been a staple since Klein went down in the first period that night.

“Being in the lineup consistently has allowed me to play more confidently, and I think that manifests itself most in my ability to make plays and be decisive with the puck,” said McIlrath, who had dressed for only four of the first 22 games. “And I think Keith and I are helping each other out at both ends of the ice.

“I can kind of direct traffic in the defensive zone and vice versa in the offensive zone, where he is so good. Keith has definitely been a steadying influence for me.”

Since Thanksgiving, Yandle has given the Rangers pretty much what they expected when the team paid a pretty penny to acquire him from the Coyotes last March 1. The risk/reward part of his game has charted on the correct side of the ledger.

While the Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi-Marc Staal Big Three had struggled (at least until Sunday’s dramatic improvement in the 4-1 Garden victory over Ottawa), Yandle had been the club’s best on the blue line. (Since rejoining the lineup on Nov. 30 after a pair of scratches, Dan Boyle has been much better, too.)

“It’s funny how things work, but I could feel things click in with that Boston game,” said Yandle, who leads the defense with 14 points (1-13). “Since that day, I’ve been a lot more comfortable with myself and my game. I’ve been as confident as any time since I’ve been with the team.”

McIlrath, of course, is in his first year in the NHL following three full years in the AHL. Still just 23, his 10th-overall selection in the 2010 Entry Draft doesn’t quite seem a Jessiman-like blunder.

In a different, evolved NHL galaxy, McIlrath could evolve into the kind of player Moose Dupont became for the Flyers under Fred Shero. The Rangers had drafted Dupont in the first round of the 1969 draft before trading him after seven games on Broadway to St. Louis as part of the deal for Gene Carr.

Dupont then went to the Flyers, where he not only became a Broad Street Bully bedrock, but scored the only goal on a shot from the point in Philadelphia’s 1974 Cup-clinching 1-0 Game 6 victory over the Bruins. He had become more than a bully.

“I think I’ve developed and improved my game in all areas,” said McIlrath, who has a good, hard shot from the point that seems to get through on a regular basis. “I think people who watched me play in Hartford could see that I was more than a fighter, but for the rest, hopefully I’m changing some minds.

“This is a great opportunity for me. I’ve gotten good feedback from the coaches. I want to be reliable back there.

“I hope I can prove through this stretch that I belong here.”