Boo may hear cheers from Garden faithful

Maybe Boo Nieves isn’t the flashiest player, but he might be exactly what the Rangers are looking for.

The Blueshirts are taking an honest look at the 23year-old center as a possible fourth-line pivot and penalty killer, his steadiness possibly giving him an edge over other players competing for the same roster spot.

“It’d be safe to say he’s in that mix,” coach Alain Vigneault said before Nieves played another solid preseason game in the Rangers’ 2-1 loss to the Devils on Saturday night at Prudential Center. “Big, strong, good skater, plays in the middle. So he is definitely in that mix of guys right now that we’re looking at.”

Vigneault had said that there is a distinct chance both first-round picks from this year, forwards Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil, could be on the openingnight roster — and that is due in some part to the offseason hip surgery to stalwart winger Jesper Fast, set to keep him out until late October.

Though both of those players might have more obvious offensive talent, it might be the attributes of Nieves’ two-way game that lands him the spot.

“I feel like me not making this team isn’t the end of the world,” Nieves said Sat- urday night. “It would definitely be tough, but it just means I would have to work that much harder to get back here again.”

Vigneault said that Chytil recently “overcompensated” for his groin injury suffered just before training camp, thus necessitating a “maintenance” day off the ice Saturday, followed by what Vigneault called “a well-deserved day off ” for the whole team Sunday. Chytil is expected back on the ice Monday.

One of the unexpected players to make it through Saturday afternoon’s cuts was winger Vinni Lettieri, who scored a goal and played a terrific game Friday night against the Islanders in Bridgeport.

“I’ve liked the skill set as far as skating ability, quickness of the shot, has been able to play more than one position,” Vigneault said of the undrafted 22-year-old Minnesotan who played nine games with AHL Hartford last season. “He’s been very effective. He’s one of those guys that is making us look twice.”

The Rangers cut down their training camp roster to 38 players, with more cuts coming in the next few days.

Now headed to training camp with AHL Hartford are forwards Ryan Gropp, Malte Stromwall, and Adam Tambellini; defensemen Alexei Bereglazov, John Gilmour and Vince Pedrie; as well as goalies Alexandar Georgiev and Chris Nell.