The Rangers gave the 6,500 or so fans who showed up at Madison Square Garden to watch them practice on Saturday afternoon something to talk about, as coach Gerard Gallant went to the blender with his forward lines yet again.
After calling out Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck following Thursday’s loss at home to the Bruins, the two were split up on Saturday with Panarin skating on Mika Zibanejad’s wing and Trocheck centering Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey. Chris Kreider completed Zibanejad’s line, and the Kid Line was reunited as well. Vitali Kravtsov, Julien Gauthier, Sammy Blais and Jake Leschyshyn rotated to make up the fourth line, though Blais sat out the first line rush for the group.
It was more or less expected that some changes would happen, but putting Panarin on the top line comes as a bit of a surprise. According to Natural Stat Trick, that trio has played just 21:58 together this season, though it has outscored opponents 2-0 with a 57.13 expected goals rate.
Zibanejad skated alongside Panarin on Saturday, prompting another line switch-up. Robert Sabo“Obviously [Panarin’s] a skilled guy and I’m hoping we get enough time to get back to it,” Zibanejad told The Post. “I thought we had some good chemistry. [It was] kinda building last time we played.”
Zibanejad and Kreider make up a duo that has been essentially cuffed for much of the season, though the Rangers have yet to find the third player to go with them. In Panarin’s case, Trocheck — who was signed this offseason to a seven-year, $39.3 million deal to replace Ryan Strome — has not meshed well enough with Panarin.
The perceived issue with playing Zibanejad and Panarin together is how often both of them need the puck on their sticks in order to be effective.
“He’s really good at it, one of the best,” Zibanejad said. “You want to put him in situations where he can do that, but at the same time, that doesn’t mean me and Kreids should not hold onto pucks and not make plays. I think that’s as important — we open things up for him as much as he opens things up for us.”
Gallant, naturally, did not commit to keeping the line combinations for Monday’s game against the Panthers or even practice on Sunday, though that does seem to be the most likely option.
Panarin was called out following abysmal play against the Bruins. Robert Sabo“We were disappointed the other night, we think we could’ve played better,” Gallant said. “And again, we played the best team in the league and it was pretty even up. … I’m just trying to make a little bit of balance and see where we go with it.”
How often the Rangers have shuffled their forwards around, though, does come at the cost of building chemistry amongst trios. With the team at 25-14-7, having vaulted into third in the Metropolitan after finding a rhythm since the start of December, they are happy to pay it.
“I would say it’s not easy to find chemistry when you play maybe a game, game and a half or whatever and then you switch. But at the same time, it might be necessary,” Zibanejad said. “It’s not always just about your own line or one line here or one line there. You want to make sure that we have four really good lines and four lines that can play.
“I have no doubt we’re gonna get there, especially with the talent and players that we have in this room. It’s just a matter of finding it and getting a little confidence, too, in your line. Getting a little bit on a roll, I’m sure it’ll work itself out.”
