Zuccarello: Winning ‘makes life easier’

Mats Zuccarello has been around long enough to know that both winning streaks and losing slumps have to be taken with a bit of perspective.

That doesn’t mean the winger isn’t enjoying the Rangers’ surge as they enter Sunday’s game at the Garden against the Canucks having won nine of their past 11 — just weeks after opening the season losing nine of their first 12.

“Hockey’s your life,” Zuccarello said Saturday after an optional practice. “When you lose hockey games, everything in your life is bad. Obviously, it’s not a big thing in life in the big picture, but for us, this is our job. It makes life easier to win hockey games, for sure.”

Zuccarello, who tallied the game-winner in overtime against the Red Wings on Friday night, has been through this before. He pointed back to the 2013-14 season, Alain Vigneault’s first as Rangers head coach, when the team dropped seven of their first 10 games before turning their season around and going all the way to the Stanley Cup final.

“We got smoked, it was kind of embarrassing,” Zuccarello said. “In the bad times, that’s when you can get the team together and really create that team bond. I think that’s important to know.”

That mindset has paid off again this year. The Rang- ers suddenly find themselves in the middle of a packed Metropolitan Division race, not far behind the likes of their area counterparts, the Devils and Islanders.

“Even though you’re winning, you always want to improve,” Zuccarello said. “You want to get better every day. Like J.T. Miller says — he’s not satisfied, so I think that’s important that we’re not satisfied and not happy. Every day is a new day and every game is a new game.”

There was no news on defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who has sat out the past two games with an abdominal strain. The captain is shut down until at least Sunday, when the team is expected to offer a further update.