VANCOUVER, British Columbia — David Quinn wanted to point out a stat that maybe had not been clear, even when it was happening.

“For six weeks, we had the best penalty kill in the league. I don’t think anyone realizes that,” the Rangers coach said, referring to the stretch from Nov. 23-Dec. 30, when they killed 87.1 percent of their penalties and not-so-coincidentally went 10-6-2.

Of course, the caveat is that Quinn’s group also had some singular games when the penalty kill has been historically bad — like the 3-for-8 night in Tampa on Nov. 14, or the 3-for-6 night in Edmonton on Tuesday. They followed the latter with a 4-for-4 performance in Calgary on Thursday, yet both games in Alberta were losses, bringing them to the end of this four-game Canadian sojourn with Saturday night’s match against the Canucks.

“That’s kind of how we’ve been, unfortunately,” Quinn said. “I would argue that we’ve been more than OK for stretches; we’ve been good. That being said, we all know it has to be better.”

On the season, the Rangers penalty kill was operating at 78.0 percent, good for 23rd in the league. That’s a tough place to be for a team that was leading the league with 189 penalties taken.

“We can’t be giving up three goals in a stretch that cost us games,” Quinn said. “We have to minimize the nights when we may not all have it and not give up three; cut it down to one. If we can do that, we’re going to give ourselves a much better chance to win games.”

When Quinn decided to bench 18-year-old Kaapo Kakko following his holding penalty in the third period, it was Greg McKegg that went up to take his shift. Quinn said he “liked McKegg’s line” in the game, which consisted of Brendan Smith and recent call-up Steven Fogarty.

McKegg has played 27 games for the Rangers this season with one goal and three assists while averaging 9:52 of ice time per game.

Defenseman Libor Hajek continues to skate with the team as he recovers from his right-knee injury suffered back on Dec. 5. Quinn had said the 21-year-old Hajek likely would have to play some games for AHL Hartford before being ready to play for the Rangers.

“He’s been skating a little harder now,” Quinn said, “so we need to see how he reacts.”

For more on the Rangers, listen to the latest episode of the “Up In The Blue Seats” podcast: