It’s a well-worn cliché that the 82-game NHL season is a marathon, and not a sprint, but that doesn’t mean the Rangers can afford to pace themselves in the winter and save their energy for a finishing kick in the spring. No, even with 50 games to go before Saturday’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens at the Garden, the Rangers were well aware they are in a dogfight just trying to get into the 16-team playoff field.

And that fight figures to continue all season long.

“Every point is important,’’ defenseman Braden Schneider said Friday. “You win two games and you’re second or third in your division, and then you lose two games and you’re at the bottom.’’

At the start of Saturday, the Rangers were 15-13-4, good for 34 points, which was one point out of a playoff spot . But there wer

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