Rangers Will Borgen trade paying off during season-turning hot streak

Will Borgen’s welcome fresh start has already paid off — and in the eyes of head coach Peter Laviolette, the defenseman has played a major role in the Rangers turning around their season, too. After the Blueshirts’ 5-0 win over the Senators on Tuesday, which extended their point streak to nine games, Laviolette said that Borgen — acquired in the deal that sent Kaapo Kakko to the Kraken on Dec.18 — has been a “big reason why things have quieted down a little bit.” He has become entrenched alongside K’Andre Miller on the Rangers’ second defensive pairing, getting tasked with shutting down top opposing lines.

His physical play has been on display over and over again, including from the opening shift against Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk.And with his acclimation to the Rangers system complete, Borgen has settled into what he considered a familiar spot. “I don’t know if it really is,” Borgen said after the team’s optional skate Wednesday, when asked if his role with the Rangers differed from his time with the Kraken.

“I think the last couple years in Seattle, my role was to play defense against some of the top lines on other teams — and I feel like I’ve been doing that here, too.” Borgen became the second defenseman the Rangers added during the season, with Urho Vaakanainen arriving early in December when the Blueshirts dumped Jacob Trouba to the Ducks.The Kraken plucked Borgen from the Sabres during the expansion draft, and across three-plus seasons with Seattle, he tasted the playoffs and — with the second campaign serving as the defining one, he said — watched as the physical style of play that has always defined his career translated into the NHL. Eventually, the Rangers will need to make a decision on Borgen, an unrestricted free agent after the season, and his place in any future blue-line combinations.

But Laviolette’s line captured just how much Borgen has meant to the Rangers in the present, too. “I think they’re go...