Rangers’ fourth line continues to contribute

The Rangers’ fourth line, with goals from Viktor Stalberg and Tanner Glass in Monday night’s 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden, continues to contribute.

“They’ve been our best line since I’ve been back,” Rick Nash said. “They bring it every night and I remember the last few years, with us having great teams, you get help from all lines. They’ve kept us in the last few games.”

Glass was credited with seven hits in 12:30. Stalberg had four shots on goal in 11:48. Dominic Moore set up Stalberg’s goal and won nine of 13 faceoffs.

“We all work hard to try to get the pucks deep and outwork the other team,” Stalberg said. “We’ve got some ability to make plays and also know when not to create any turnovers coming back. Any time you get scoring from your bottom six, it can be a difference-maker.”

Alain Vigneault said the trio “has given me the opportunity to have good balance [with the lines]. Again, they were good on the forecheck and defensively, they’ve been very dependable. Offensively, there’ve been some great looks, so it’s a real bonus right now.”

Nash enjoys big game

Nash’s 13th goal wasn’t his only big play. “He was a beast,” Derek Stepan said. “He had some pretty good moves [to the net] and some good looks. I think he’s finding his way with his game. He’s gotten better each game, and tonight was one of his best.”

He had three shots on goal and one shot blocked in his 14:03. He was a presence on most of his 24 shifts, including the penalty kill.

Nash entered the game with no points in five games after missing 20 games with a deep bone bruise. “It definitely has been a struggle for me personally,” he said before the game. “It’s tough to find your timing and it’s tough to find your speed. Ten weeks is a long time. It’s hard, but I’ve got to try and stay positive.”

“I don’t think he should get frustrated,” Vigneault said. “He couldn’t skate for basically six weeks, couldn’t put any weight on that leg. He’s just got to be patient. We’ve given him one practice, a couple of morning skates . . . very limited. We’re trying to move things around a bit to see if we can jump-start this.”

Nash has been on three different lines, including Monday night with Derick Brassard and Jesper Fast.

The big forward, who had 12 goals and 33 points in 50 games before the injury suffered on Jan. 22 against Carolina, said: “There’s no room for excuses in this game. Everybody has come back from injuries and I’m not going to use excuses. I’m going to try and find a way to help the team in any way I can.”

On Monday night, he did.

Blue notes

Kevin Klein had two assists and has at least a point in four of the last five games . . . The Rangers have earned at least 90 points in nine of the last 11 seasons . . . Henrik Lundqvist reached 40,000 minutes played, becoming the fifth goalie to do so with one franchise . . . Dylan McIlrath, who missed his seventh straight game with a knee injury, practiced in a non-contact jersey. Vigneault termed him “day-to-day” but indicated it might be closer to a week before the defenseman plays . . . Forward Oscar Lindberg was a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game.