Regarding the Rangers, who, pending Sunday’s results, have the best record in the NHL (11-3, .786) since Oct. 31, but remain on the outside looking in at the playoffs:

1. General manager Jeff Gorton never expected Lias Andersson to be in Sweden and Tony DeAngelo to be in Hartford at this juncture of the season, thus leaving the Blueshirts with nothing to show on the NHL level as the return for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta.

Management overestimated seventh-overall selection Andersson’s readiness to make the jump from Sweden to Broadway as a 19-year-old and expected more polish and whole-ice awareness from DeAngelo. The 22-year-old 2014 first-rounder has struggled with the Wolf Pack since his Oct. 24 demotion after failing to nail down the sixth spot on the New York blue line.

If this is merely a snapshot of the trade, fair enough. The deal was not meant to provide a quick fix as much as it was designed to clear Stepan’s annual $6.5 million cap obligation through 2020-21 ahead of his no-trade clause that kicked in on July 1, and to restock the pipeline. And young players progress on their own timetables. If this, though, turns out to be the whole movie, well, then not good. But it remains wildly premature to offer that analysis.

Gorton and the front office do deserve credit for not keeping these not-ready-for-prime-time players as a face-saving measure, as other regimes might have. This one does not seem particularly sensitive to appearances. That is a quality that should not be taken for granted.

2. The 3-7-2 deep dive out of the gate created a situation in which the Rangers — who are in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and in Washington on Friday before facing the Devils at the Garden the following night — have been operating with a minimal margin of error.

Hence, lineups with Nick Holden and/or Steven Kampfer on defense and Paul Carey on the fourth line. These are veterans with whom coach Alain Vigneault feels a measure of comfort. Thus, young righty defenseman Neal Pionk and young winger Vinni Lettieri remain in the AHL.

There is likely more stability to the veterans’ respective games. But there is also a limited ceiling to Holden, Kampfer and Carey. And if the Rangers are going to be anything but a fringe team banking on the “anything can happen” bromide (even though it has happened only once in the last 77 years in Manhattan), the ceiling needs to be raised.

At least the attempt should be made. Full disclosure: I haven’t seen the Wolf Pack play other than in highlight clips. Rangers’ assistant GM Chris Drury likely has a better handle on whether Lettieri and Pionk, both of whom have had strong games, are ready. If they need more time, well, no sense in rushing them.

But if they are ready and only remain in the AHL because they are being blocked by workmanlike veterans, management should review its position. The Rangers require upgrades. And the team could use an infusion of energy kids naturally supply.

Current fourth-line center Boo Nieves aside, Carl Hagelin, promoted over Thanksgiving of 2011, is the last true rookie to make an impact following a midseason recall. Ryan McDonagh, promoted in early January of 2011, is the last rookie defenseman to earn a spot following a midseason summons.

Is that because the organization’s default policy is to rely on veterans or because of an absence of qualified kids in Hartford?

3. No update Sunday on the health of teenager Filip Chytil, who was slammed face-first into the glass/stanchion by the Marlies’ Andreas Johnsson at 15:49 of the third period of the Wolf Pack’s overtime defeat in Toronto on Saturday.

While a concussion is suspected, we are told that No. 72 — who did not return to the match after the play on which Johnsson was assessed a boarding major and game misconduct — had not been diagnosed with one as of Saturday night.

4. There will be no outdoor replay prior to the Winter Classic of the 1978 preliminary playoff round in which the Sabres defeated the Rangers 2-1. The Post has learned that the NHL is going without an alumni game at Citi Field in advance of the Jan. 1 main event.

That’s unfortunate. Pat LaFontaine and Drury could have played for both sides, so could Marty Biron, Randy Moller, Ray Sheppard, Brad Brown, Dmitri Kalinin and Lindy Ruff.

And It would have been mighty entertaining to watch Don Murdoch (who scored the Game 2 OT winner at MSG in that barely remembered series) go in one-on-one against Jim Schoenfeld.

Oh well.