BUFFALO — A few years ago, Jimmy Vesey may have let his season-opening scratch ruin the rest of his month.

The second-time Ranger, however, is not only more mature in his assessment of himself now, but he also sees the bigger picture and his place in it.

Just because Vesey spent the Blueshirts’ first game of the season — a 5-1 win against the Sabres on Thursday night — in street clothes watching from the press box doesn’t mean that his role is any less important than those of the players who were in the lineup.

It also doesn’t mean that Vesey won’t be in the lineup a few games from now.

“We’re all here because we want to win the Stanley Cup, and to do that it takes a lot of guys,” Vesey told The Post after the Rangers’ morning skate, during which the 30-year-old stayed out on the ice for extra work.

“Everyone’s going to be called upon this year to go in and play and contribute, and I’m no different. Everyone wants to be in the lineup and [I’m] just going to keep working hard in practice. When I get in the lineup, I’ll be ready.”

Head coach Peter Laviolette said that scratching Vesey was not an easy decision.

Vesey’s training camp was no better or worse than some of the other players who were on the lineup bubble, but a combination of factors ultimately edged the Massachusetts native out.

The emergence of rookie Will Cuylle, who earned a spot in the lineup out of training camp for the first time, was somewhat unexpected.

Cuylle seized his opportunities and quickly snagged a spot in the top-nine, where he played Thursday night alongside Vincent Trocheck and Blake Wheeler on the third unit.

With Cuylle in the top-nine, that left Barclay Goodrow, Nick Bonino, Tyler Pitlick and Jimmy Vesey as fourth-line options.

Goodrow can play center, but Bonino is a career middleman.

Pitlick, on the other hand, is an offseason signing whom the Rangers probably wanted to see first in order to evaluate what they have in him.

“Sometimes it comes down to a person playing a natural position,” Laviolette said. “Nick, when he signed here, was that natural centerman, defensive penalty-killer, faceoff guy that has found success. That decision was not an easy decision [Wednesday] night. I’m sure I’ll have to make a bunch of decisions this year, but that one was not easy because I think that Jimmy Vesey had a good camp. I thought it got better as it went on and he was effective inside the games.

“I talked to him this morning and [said], ‘This isn’t a decision [where] you didn’t play well enough, I can only dress 12 forwards.’ In the end, I stayed with the decision to play the natural center on the fourth line.”

Last season, Vesey rejoined the Rangers — after spending the first three seasons of his NHL career in New York — on a professional tryout.

He said he didn’t know if he’d be in the league or where he would play.

Vesey noted that he feels more confident at the start of this season, which is the first of the two-year, $1.6 million extension he signed in January.

After hitting a down period in his career a few years ago, Vesey sees the past two as steps up.

No matter the role, it’s still a role on an NHL team.

More importantly to Vesey, it’s a role with the New York Rangers.

“I just think overall this is where I want to be and this is where I’d like to win,” Vesey said. “Last year ended on a sour note for most of the guys in this locker room. We’re definitely coming out hungry this year.”