CHICAGO — Dan Boyle doesn’t care what his critics are saying. Not while his Rangers are winning.
“I guess that’s part of being in this type of environment — sometimes you get overanalyzed a little bit,” Boyle told The Post after Saturday’s practice in Westchester, his team traveling to Chicago later in the day for Sunday night’s game against the Blackhawks.
“I think that’s been a little bit of the case, in my opinion. People are more worried about the goals and the assists that I don’t have versus how the team is doing.
“I just don’t understand why it’s so important — the team is winning. That’s important. As far as how I’m playing, I’ll just let you guys say what you’re going to say, because you’re going to say it anyway.”
For the record, the 38-year-old Boyle has eight goals and 15 points in his first injury-plagued 46 games with the Rangers, who found themselves just two points behind the Islanders for tops in the Metropolitan Division before their suburban rivals faced the Panthers on Saturday night in Florida.
Though it has been a rough start for Boyle on Broadway, it’s not too far off to think the perception of the first year of his two-year, $9 million free-agent deal with the Rangers will change drastically if they make a long run in the postseason, all while his game picks up.
And maybe while individual points aren’t exactly stacking up, it’s clear Boyle has been playing better of late, even before the trade-deadline acquisition of another offensive blueliner, Keith Yandle.
“I don’t need that, I’m fired up as it is,” Boyle said. “Certainly, it’s a player that we play a similar type game. I believe that’s a good thing.”
The game in Chicago will be Yandle’s third with the team, and already it’s clear he has made the Rangers a more complete team on defense.
“We have three pairs that I feel very comfortable playing against anybody right now,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “Especially when you’re on the road when you don’t necessarily get the offensive matches you’re looking for, if on the backend you’re confident with what you have, it makes it good for your team. So far the first two games, that’s what we’ve seen.”
The top pair of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh has stayed intact, while the improved play of Boyle has enabled Vigneault to comfortably move him up to the second pair with defensive stalwart Marc Staal.
That leaves Yandle with another defensive-minded blueliner, Kevin Klein, making for three well-balanced pairs.
“I figured that adding Yandle to our group was going to make us a better group,” said Vigneault, whose team has beaten the Predators 4-1 and lost a great 2-1 overtime game to the Red Wings in Detroit with Yandle in the lineup. “I just think as a group, we’ve played some good hockey against two very good teams. I know having Keith there is helping our group, but I couldn’t be specific on the individual impact it has had.”
So maybe Boyle’s play picking up hasn’t been a direct result of Yandle’s addition. Yet the trade was a clear indication to the team general manager Glen Sather is thinking less of the future and more of trying to win a Stanley Cup this season. He sent 24-year-old defenseman John Moore, top-prospect Anthony Duclair and first- and second-round picks to the Coyotes for the 28-year-old Yandle, with one more year on his contract at a $5.25 million salary-cap hit.
As for where that places the Rangers going into the stretch run of the regular season and into the postseason, Boyle wasn’t trying to get ahead of himself. He Boyle won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, and also saw some terrific Sharks teams flounder in the postseason, making it clear winning championships — just as winning over critics — can be a fickle endeavor.
“We had some good teams in San Jose for many years and we didn’t get it done,” Boyle said. “I feel comfortable with the guys we have going in here. I like what we have. But timing is key. You want to go into the playoffs playing as well as you can. You need good goaltending, strong D and timely goals.
“So timing is everything.”