Rangers’ second line puts on show in win over Kraken

NHL

By Mollie Walker

SEATTLE — Climate Pledge Arena had some technical difficulties with the lighting Saturday night, but the Rangers lit the ice up anyway.

Behind a six-point night from the second line, the Blueshirts powered to a 4-1 win over the Kraken to kick off a five-game road trip out west in style.

A few malfunctioned light bulbs were not going to get in the Rangers’ way of redeeming themselves after a lackluster performance in their previous game.

That was the challenge head coach Peter Laviolette bestowed upon his team as he opted to dress the same lineup aside from goalie Jonathan Quick, and they delivered.

The Rangers scored four unanswered goals after Justin Schultz opened the scoring at the 8:41 mark of the first period.

A majority of the Rangers’ offense, however, stemmed from some electric play from Artemi Panarin, Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere.

There was Chytil — ahem, second-line center Filip Chytil — flying through all three zones with the sort of flair and confidence that the Czech center has steadily added to his repertoire as his role with the Rangers continues to grow.

It resulted in a three-assist night for Chytil, who looks like a player who has been itching for this extended opportunity next to star wing Panarin.

“I thought Fil really took charge tonight and showed some leadership in the way he played the game,” Laviolette said. “He had a tremendously strong game. His line was strong. Laf was strong. Bread was really strong. I thought it was a good effort by their line.”

Speaking of Panarin, he continued to serve as the Rangers’ most dynamic forward so far this season, scoring two goals and making the types of plays only the Russian wing can see.

Panarin’s second goal of the night came 5 ½ minutes into the third period, when he caught a chipped puck, put it in front of him and swept it in through traffic for the 4-1 lead.

Panarin is now riding a five-game point streak, over which he’s accumulated a total of seven points (three goals, four assists).

“I think he’s playing really well,” Laviolette said recently of double shifting Panarin, which continued Saturday night. “I think he has a major impact in the game with how he’s playing, how he’s competing. Not just on the offensive side of the puck, but for an offensive player, even on the defensive side of the puck.”

There was a delay at the start of the game because of dimmed arena lighting on one side of the ice, which forced both teams to come to an agreement that they would switch sides every 10 minutes or so for the remainder of the game.

Apparently, there were legitimate conversations about postponing the game to Sunday night. After everybody was consulted, specifically the goalies, the game went on as planned.

Both first-period goals happened to unfold on the darker side of the ice.

The wonky lighting hardly seemed to affect the Rangers. Kaapo Kakko and Lafreniere got in on the action in the second period, in which the lottery twins scored just under five minutes apart.

The second line, however, has been a revelation for the Rangers in their small sample size of games.

To think this is their first extended time playing on a line together despite all three skating in the same lineup for three years now.