It’s been a minute since the Rangers and Tony DeAngelo shared a sheet of ice, but when the Blueshirts take on the ‘Canes here Friday night in their next challenge, No. 77 will be on the other side.

He will be the one thriving after a year of enforced idleness that followed, well, come on, you know the story by now. Outburst(s). A post-game encounter with a teammate following a final warning. Waivers. Exile. Buyout.

And a new start away from the bright lights of Broadway.

“It’s going really well for me here,” DeAngelo, who signed a one-year free agent deal for $1 million with Carolina following the buyout, told The Post this week. “I was a little rusty in training camp, though, I came back and it was, ‘Holy Blank, I didn’t know I was out this long.’ So it took me a little bit to get going.

“But there are so many good players here and the pace has been so high from the start that I was able to get comfortable pretty early. It’s been real smooth. We started off 9-0 and it doesn’t get better than that.”

DeAngelo opened the season paired with Ian Cole. Now, he partners primarily with Jaccob Slavin.  

“He’s a beast. I’ve never seen anyone in my life play defense like him, so it’s been perfect for me,” said DeAngelo, who has recorded 28 points (6-22) in 29 games and has been on for 32 goals for and just 14 against at five-on-five. “We complement each other. It’s been a perfect start. I couldn’t ask for anything better after a year off.”