New postgame ‘huddle’ all about Blueshirts camaraderie

About that group hug on the ice that takes place at the end of every Rangers practice …

“It’s not really a hug. I call it a, ‘huddle,’ ” head coach Peter Laviolette said when asked about these kumbaya moments following Wednesday’s practice. “It’s a group, ‘huddle.’

“I want to make sure you get the word right.”

The Blueshirts have been concluding their practices this way since the day before the season commenced. The players seem to be embracing the embrace, er, huddle.

“I think it’s fun. It’s been good, we are winning lately so I think we need to keep doing that,” Kaapo Kakko told The Post. “It’s just fun to do.

“There are some teams I played with in Finland that did that, with somebody saying something at the end that’s not maybe even related to the next game or last game. It’s not really serious, just talking about what’s going on.”

Captain Jacob Trouba was the first player to assume the role of Speaker on the Ice. Lately, Filip Chytil has been the designated talker. That’s one of the by-products of a five-game winning streak the Blueshirts will carry into Thursday’s match at the Garden against Carolina.

“It’s been Fil lately because we’ve been winning and so we’re not going to change stuff,” Kakko said. “I’m sure it will change after a bad game and there will be someone else, but hopefully we will win every game and it will be Fil all season.”

The Rangers were the first NHL team to do a victory salute on the ice in 2005-06. Now there is this more private enterprise.

“I think it’s pretty good. We are starting to be closer to each other,” Igor Shesterkin said. “I think it’s really good when the team stays together with, like, one big feast.”

Encouraging different voices to be heard is at the root of the exercise introduced by Laviolette, who remained purposefully vague when asked when during his career he implemented it.

“I’ve done it before,” he said. “I speak too much, I’m in too many meetings, it’s my voice too much, and I think it’s good for players to do something to end the day. It’s more about players talking to break practice.

“So, ‘huddle.’ It’s the players’ voices, not mine. That’s what I like about it.” ➤ There is a new challenge confronting the Blueshirts in playing their first game at the Garden in two weeks after sweeping five on a road trip that featured contests in three different time zones. Residual fatigue — mental and otherwise — could become an issue, though the opponent should be enough to get the Rangers’ attention.

“It was good to come back and take a breath [on Tuesday] to reset and refresh,” Laviolette said. “I wish we had a crystal ball and you could tell exactly what’s going to go on the day before but you try to address things. We talked about it a little bit.

“I think the opponent helps [in preparation]. Carolina has been a good team in the division for a few years now and so that gets your attention right away.”

➤ Tyler Pitlick, who has been a healthy scratch for six straight and seven of the club’s nine contests, did not skate Wednesday, held out for “maintenance,” per the Rangers.

➤ A victory elevates the Rangers to 8-2-0. That would match the second-best 10-game start in franchise history behind the 1983-84 squad that opened 9-1-0.