It's been an up-and-down season so far for Rangers captain Jacob Trouba

Rangers captain Jacob Trouba committed a couple of costly turnovers early in Monday’s game against New Jersey, both of which led to a Devils goal. But the Rangers rallied from that two-goal deficit and eventually won in overtime.

And with the high-flying Toronto Maple Leafs in town to face the Rangers at Madison Square Garden Thursday, Trouba had no time to be worrying about mistakes he had made on Monday.

“Move on,’’ Trouba said Wednesday, when asked about his rough start Monday night. “Don't dwell on it. You can’t change it.’’

It’s been, at best, an up-and-down season for Trouba, who in August was named the Rangers’ 28th captain, and first since Ryan McDonagh was traded to Tampa Bay at the February 2018 trade deadline. Entering Thursday, Trouba had not scored a goal through 30 games and had a rating of minus-6 and a team-high of 35 penalty minutes.

“He's fine. He's battling hard. He's competing hard,’’ Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of Trouba. “He's a big part of our group. He makes mistakes, like every other player in the league. And it cost us one goal last game. But that happens. That’s part of the game and ‘Troubs’ rebounds from that real well. And that's what you like about veteran players and a guy like him. He's not going to let a mistake (bother him), or because you caused a goal. Move on and get ready for the next shift.’’

Trouba was a rock for the Rangers in 2021-22, and one of the reasons the team stabilized after goalie Igor Shesterkin kept them afloat for the first two months of the season. He finished with 11 goals and 28 assists, was plus-25 and his thunderous hits – and fights – were often game-changing for the Rangers.

But this has been a different season for the Rangers and for Trouba. The Rangers acknowledged, without officially disclosing it, that Trouba was dealing with some sort of an injury issue early in the season. Whether that affected his play  or still being bothered by the issue is unclear. But  the bottom line is that he has clearly not been the player he was last season.

It got to the point that Gallant broke up the second-defensive pair partnership between Trouba and K’Andre Miller during the Nov. 28 game against the Devils. And for three games after that, Miller partnered with second-year player Braden Schneider (who’s been dubbed “Baby Trouba’’ by his teammates, because his game is so similar to Trouba’s), while Trouba played on a third pair with Zac Jones or Libor Hajek.

Trouba and Miller were reunited for the Dec. 5 game against St. Louis, but on Monday, with the Rangers down two goals to the Devils, Gallant again demoted Trouba to the third pair for the final two-plus periods.

Trouba downplayed the change in partners, and based on Wednesday’s practice, it looked as if he would be back with Miller against the Maple Leafs as the Rangers tried to extend their four-game winning streak.

Despite his personal struggles, Trouba is able to focus on the Rangers’ recent success, in which the Rangers seem to getting breaks they weren’t getting earlier. Shots that were hitting the goalpost or crossbar two weeks ago are going in now, and the team is finding ways to win even when it doesn’t play especially well.

And, according to Trouba, the players are enjoying themselves more than they had been.

“I think we're having a little bit more fun, finally, which is nice to see,’’ he said. “I think we've had our moments of not playing good hockey, but … overall, we’ve played pretty good hockey.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.