I want to start with this stat right at the top so that you do not miss it. When Chris Kreider scored on the power play at 11:40 of the third period to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead in what became a 5-3 victory over the Blues on Wednesday at the Garden, it marked the club’s 39th goal with the man advantage … and the 37th for which Kreider and the first unit was on the ice.

And the decisive goal in this captivating game that came off Kid K’s deflection of Adam Fox’s drive from the top came 15 seconds after Gerard Gallant called a timeout 1:17 into the power play so that the first unit could get a quick breather and remain on the ice for 2:00, or however long it took to score.

Rarely has a team relied on so few with the man advantage. The second unit, such as it is, has been on the ice for two PPGs, one on Dec. 1 and the next on Dec. 8. Since then, the first unit has recorded 21 straight.

This may become problematic in the playoffs, when more is demanded of every player in the postseason grind. The Rangers need to add that mystery top-sixer of whom we have been speaking for months not only to aid their five-on-five game, but to allow Gallant to construct a credible second power-play unit.

Can Kaapo Kakko be that player when he returns from what has been revealed as a left wrist injury? Maybe, for the Finn did just fine slotting in when Artemi Panarin was sidelined with COVID-19 earlier, but president-general manager Chris Drury may not want to leave that to chance.

For now, though, the Rangers will ride their horses. Until Kreider scored, until the Blueshirts were gifted with that five-on-four with 10:08 remaining in regulation when Colton Parayko skied one into the stands off his backhand deep in his own end, there had been one skimpy power-play opportunity that had failed in the first. Indeed, that extended the Rangers’ streak to 0-for-8 over three-plus games.

That does not represent enough advantages for a team whose singular advantage lies on the power play. Oh, well in nets, too, but that does kind of go without saying every day, does it not? But when given that opportunity, the Rangers seized it on Kreider’s league-leading 18th power-play goal and 35th goal overall.

The Blues force opponents to battle for every loose puck. They play a high-tempo game that is a model for the way the Rangers want to play. They track back hard. The Rangers, under pressure much of the night, responded very, very well other than a seizure that lasted for 2:14 late in the second period in which St. Louis scored three times on three shots to wipe out a 2-0 deficit.

Again, in the playoffs, the Rangers might not be able to overcome that kind of extended lapse, when their coverage both against the rush and on down-low possession crumbled. But the team regained its composure and equilibrium during the intermission after the Blues had struck at 17:30, 18:37 and 19:44 of the second. Stunned disbelief turned into a flurry of boos at the end of the period, with Igor Shesterkin stationary in net for up to 10 seconds following the buzzer.

Pavel Buchnevich had a couple of glorious chances, one on a breakaway in the second period and one around the net in the third, denied by Shesterkin each time. By the way, the Rangers had all sorts of trouble holding the line at different junctures of the game. That is an area that the club has to clean up.

When Kevin Rooney effectively left the lineup with an unspecified upper-body injury he sustained during the first period, Gallant cut down his bench. Filip Chytil, who was restored to action — well, restored to the lineup — wound up with 9:04 of ice time on a fourth line with Julien Gauthier on the right and either Greg McKegg or Barclay Goodrow on the left. For the most part, the Rangers went with nine forwards over the final 40 minutes. That’s not a recipe for a long run in the postseason.

But we’re not there yet. We’re not at the March 21 trade deadline yet, either. By the way, it was another strong night for Braden Schneider, who stepped up for a couple of shifts to pair with K’Andre Miller when Jacob Trouba was in the box serving a fighting major at 11:57 of the third.

There were some breakdowns. There was too much reliance on the marquee guys. That’s what the Rangers do. But they won. They beat a tough team in a tough game. That’s also what the Rangers do.