For the first nine games of the postseason, there was little intrigue surrounding the Rangers’ line combinations. Besides Tyler Motte returning to the lineup midway through the first round and slotting into the fourth line, not much changed. 

On Sunday afternoon, though, after two ineffective games against the Hurricanes, Rangers coach Gerard Gallant threw all that into flux, putting his top nine into a blender. Filip Chytil was promoted to Mika Zibanejad’s wing on the top line with Alexis Lafreniere playing to the right of Ryan Strome on the second line. The third line was completely revamped with Andrew Copp centering Frank Vatrano and Kaapo Kakko. 

Now the question is which way will the Rangers go in Tuesday’s Game 4? 

Chris Kreider, Zibanejad and Chytil proved to be an effective combination, but the second and third lines struggled, leading Gallant to play the third period of the 3-1 victory with the same trios the Blueshirts have had for most of the postseason. 

The coach was not hesitant to switch things around during the regular season, though, and it’s no guarantee that he won’t continue to do so against the Hurricanes. Asked Monday what he would do, Gallant said he expected to change things up from Game 3, but was noncommittal as to how. 

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“I’d love to keep rolling the same lines over when things are going good, but when we have some struggles, you put guys in different situations,” Gallant said. “See how they respond.” 

He has options, with Chytil and Copp both able to switch between wing and center and having done so effectively in this series. Copp’s 10-6 mark on faceoffs in Game 3 — in the midst of a series in which Carolina has regularly gotten the better of the Rangers at the dots — provides an intriguing argument to keep him in the middle. 

Even upon returning him to Strome’s wing in the third period on Sunday, Gallant told Copp to take faceoffs. 

As for Chytil, his effectiveness on the wing didn’t go unnoticed, especially after his success driving the Kid Line from center throughout the postseason. 

“As coaches, you always think, should I do this? Move him at center or put him on right wing now, but I thought he did a good job out there,” Gallant said. “Played well, created some chances. … I don’t love to do it, but I thought last night we’d try something.” 

Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen practiced with the team on Monday. Coach Rod Brind’Amour said Andersen is not yet an option to play in Game 4. 

Sammy Blais participated in Rangers practice with a non-contact jersey.