James Sheppard, the 26-year-old forward whom the Rangers acquired from the Sharks on Sunday, is expected to make his Blueshirts debut in Detroit on Wednesday, after sitting out Monday’s match at the Garden against the Predators following his cross-country flight from San Jose.

If he does, it apparently will come at the expense of fourth-line winger Tanner Glass, who played one of his most imposing games of the year in the Rangers’ 4-1 victory over Nashville.

Coach Alain Vigneault, at least for this one, seems to be prioritizing versatility and competence at the faceoff dots over physicality.

“I think Tanner has played well in his role,” Vigneault said following Tuesday’s practice. “The dynamics that he brings to our group, I would say the last little while he has played the exact type of hockey we expected; the physicality, being a deterrent against the other team’s physicality. I think he’s done that.”

Nevertheless, Sheppard, who plays both the middle and the wing, will probably join Dom Moore and Jesper Fast on the fourth line while Glass sits. Sheppard skated in that spot Tuesday while Glass subbed for Mats Zuccarello (maintenance day) on the unit with Derick Brassard and Rick Nash.

(Dream on, Tanner).

“I think the addition of an individual who can play that center position and has done that in the past [Sheppard], that will help our group,” Vigneault said.

Sheppard, who played most of the year on San Jose’s third line between Tomas Hertl and Barclay Goodrow, had gone 267-267 at the dots for the Sharks for a 50 percent efficiency rate exceeded by only Moore’s 55 percent among the Rangers.

If the concern is faceoffs, and there’s good reason for that with the Rangers 29th in the NHL at 46.7 percent on draws, Vigneault could shift Sheppard onto the third line to take draws in place of Kevin Hayes, who has won only 37.5 percent during his rookie season.

Hagelin would remain on the left with Hayes and Sheppard, while J.T. Miller would in turn be bumped to the fourth unit.

“I remember him a lot from Minnesota where he started off as a young player,” Vigneault said of Sheppard, who was selected ninth overall by the Wild in the 2006 Entry Draft but has never recorded more than five goals, 19 assists or 26 points in a season. “From my understanding, he is a smart player who can play a pretty good two-way game, and is versatile.

“He can play all three forward positions. I think for our bottom six, depending on how he plays, he’ll get an opportunity and see where he fits in.”

Asked his level of concern regarding Zuccarello’s availability for the match against the Red Wings, Vigneault said, “None.” The coach then described the winger as having a “bo-bo,” which was either the French or Norwegian translation of “boo-boo.”

Dan Boyle ’s next game will be the 1,000th of his NHL career. The 38-year-old will become the 98th defenseman in league history to attain that milestone. … The game in Detroit marks the first of five straight on the road that will also feature matches against the Blackhawks, Islanders, Caps and Sabres.

The Rangers are 9-1-1 in their last 11 and 10-2-2 since Henrik Lundqvist was sidelined on Feb. 4. … The Blueshirts limited the Predators to 26 shots on Monday after having allowed 34 or more in five of their previous 10 matches. The Rangers had allowed as many as 34 shots in just 10 of their first 51 games.