"It's safe once again for Henrik Lundqvist to go back to the Garden to watch the Knicks play.

It wasn't always that way.

After being pulled from nets on Feb. 3 of last season after allowing three goals on 12 shots in 35:04 of a 3-2 loss to the Devils a night after having been photographed with Justin Bieber on celebrity row watching the Knicks play the Mavericks, the King was strongly discouraged, if not specifically prohibited, by coach John Tortorella from returning to watch Carmelo Anthony and his teammates the rest of the way.

But there Lundqvist was on Christmas Day, watching the Knicks beat the Celtics in the NBA season opener.

"Well, we had won four in a row," a smiling Lundqvist told The Post following yesterday's morning skate at the Garden that preceded last night's match against the Islanders.

Now it's five straight for the Rangers, and primarily because of Lundqvist, who recorded 28 saves in the 3-0 victory over their suburban cousins that represented his third shutout of the season and 38th of his NHL career, just 11 shy of the franchise record owned by Ed Giacomin.

"I think I'll be able to go back now," Lundqvist said after it had ended. "I'm glad I didn't jinx it."

The Rangers' legs appeared somewhat heavy and their thought process a bit slow coming off the NHL's two-day holiday recess. Lundqvist, however, was brilliant, especially during a stretch of 2:41 late in the second period during which he made nine saves, all on shots off flurries from around the net in protecting a 1-0 lead."