Pupil got best of teacher

When looking at the smirk painted across the face of Brady Tkachuk, it’s not hard to realize why the Senators’ 20-year-old winger gets under the skin of so many of his opponents.

He surely did against the Rangers, who succumbed to his antics (and terrific play) by losing a 6-2 game to the Senators at the Garden on Monday night.

Rangers coach David Quinn knows Tkachuk well from their one year together at Boston University before Tkachuk was drafted with the No. 4-overall pick in 2018. But that didn’t make it any easier to swallow as Tkachuk picked up a goal and an assist, had a plus-three rating, and turned down a handful of offers to fight from Brendan Lemieux, eventually getting Lemieux tossed from the game late in the third period.

“He’s an agitating player, and we played right into his hands,” Quinn said. “On top of being an agitating player, he’s a really good player. This game is about managing emotions and not getting distracted. We had a few too many guys get distracted.” ➤ Rangers top-line center Mika Zibanejad missed his third straight while dealing with an upper-body injury suffered Oct. 27 on a reverse-hit from the Bruins Patrice Bergeron. Zibanejad did skate by himself before Sunday’s practice, and for a short while before Monday’s morning skate, and the club is optimistic about his return.

Quinn said he is a possibility for Wednesday night’s primetime Garden match against the Red Wings, or the second leg of the back-to-back, Thursday night in Raleigh, N.C. against the Hurricanes.

➤ The first time as a healthy scratch for 13-year veteran defenseman Marc Staal extended to a third game, but it likely won’t be much longer before he returns.

“He’s going to get in,” Quinn said Monday morning. “I’m not just saying this. We need him. Circumstances haven’t allowed him to get back in. The plan wasn’t for him to sit for three, but he’s going to get back in.”