“It’s getting old,” he said after the Rangers lost to the last-place Florida Panthers, 3-1, on March 21. “We just have to put the puck in the net; that’s how you win games.”

A couple of other couched references to his teammates’ need to be tougher in front of the net was hardly eviscerating criticism. But for Lundqvist, it was highly unusual.

“I don’t think it was so much about scoring — it was more about emotions,” Lundqvist said Monday, looking back on what he said a month ago. “I think we play with more emotions now. Hockey is a game where you have to play with your heart a lot of times. I think we’ve been doing that lately.”

The Rangers are 4-1-1 since the April 3 trade deadline, when they acquired Ryane Clowe for draft picks and Derick Brassard and John Moore in exchange for Marian Gaborik. Their offense has risen to 25th from 30th — a small but significant boost.

The Rangers’ remaining schedule seems easy — none of the opponents currently hold a playoff spot. The Rangers have beaten the Flyers five out of the last six times they have met in Philadelphia.

But their position is still precarious. “At least me personally, I try not to think too much where we are in the standings,” Lundqvist said. “It doesn’t help my game really. I know it’s an important game every night, and that’s enough for me. I go out and try to just focus on my game.

“But having everything in your own hands, obviously that’s a good thing. It’s going to come down to the last couple of games, for sure, so we just have to continue working really hard in practice, focusing on everything in our game. Every little play can be the difference between making it or missing the playoffs.”

As for his own play, Lundqvist is happy with where he is.

“There’s always games, there’s always goals where you feel like you could have done better,” he said. “But over all I feel like I’ve reached the level where I feel comfortable and I can give the team a chance to win and just hope for the best.”