Now it makes sense, as opposed to making cents, why the Rangers did not place Derek Stepan on long-term injured reserve and clear temporary cap space that could have been used to recall a defenseman during last week’s three-game trip through western Canada.

Stepan sustained two broken ribs as a result of the hit he took from Matt Beleskey in Boston on Nov. 27. Under the collective bargaining agreement, a player on LTI is ineligible to play for at least 10 games and 24 days.

That means Stepan would not have been available until the Blueshirts’ Dec. 22 match at the Garden against the Ducks, and would have been forced to miss a minimum of 12 games on the schedule.

But despite the Rangers’ initial forecast of a four-to-six week recovery period, Stepan — who missed his ninth straight in Tuesday’s 4-2 Rangers victory at the Garden over the Oilers — seems likely to return either Thursday night in Minnesota or the following night in Winnipeg.

So while maintaining Stepan on IR rather than seeking the long-term exemption prevented the Blueshirts from recalling a defenseman who might have played in Edmonton or Calgary after Dan Girardi’s knee swelled in the wake of blocking a shot in Vancouver on the first game of the trip, the decision will allow them to activate their invaluable center two or three games earlier than would have otherwise been permitted.

With Brady Skjei in the lineup, the Rangers dressed five of their own first-rounders (Marc Staal, 2005; Chris Kreider, 2009; Dylan McIlrath, 2010; J.T. Miller, 2011; Skjei, 2012) for the first time since Nov. 21, 1998, when Brian Leetch, Dan Cloutier, Manny Malhotra, Alex Kovalev and Niklas Sundstrom played in the Blueshirts’ 2-2 tie in San Jose, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Blueshirts dressed 10 first-rounders overall, including Rick Nash (Columbus); Derick Brassard (Columbus); Ryan McDonagh (Montreal); Kevin Hayes (Chicago); and Emerson Etem (Anaheim)

Until Tuesday, Girardi had played in 682 of a possible 687 games (plus 108 of 108 in the playoffs) since his Rangers/NHL debut on Jan. 27, 2007. This marked only the fifth game of the defenseman’s career he had missed because of injury (he was rested in the 2013-14 season finale) and the first since Feb. 7, 2013.

Barring a setback, Kevin Klein, who missed his seventh straight since suffering an oblique injury on Nov. 30, is expected to return as soon as Thursday in Minnesota. If not, then Friday in Winnipeg.

The Wild are likely to have Jarret Stoll, claimed on waivers from the Blueshirts on Tuesday, in their lineup.