The Rangers reconvened after the Olympic stoppage wanting to find some successful combinations that had been largely absent through much of a disappointing last-place season.
Head coach Mike Sullivan seemingly has found one that works with the hot play out of the break of the unit with Mika Zibanejad centering inconsistent winger Alexis Lafrenière and rookie Gabe Perreault.
That trio has combined for seven goals and seven assists over back-to-back wins over the Flyers and the Flames entering Thursday’s game in Winnipeg.
“I think Mika’s line as it’s been the last handful of games has been really good,” Sullivan said after Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Calgary at MSG.
“Those guys, they all have really good offensive instincts. They’re a little bit different in how they play, but I think that’s been a little bit complementary.”
With leading scorer Artemi Panarin dealt to the Kings before the Olympic break and captain J.T. Miller presently on injured reserve, Sullivan has been forced to try different top six combinations up front.
Lafrenière, who played much of the season on a line alongside Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, has totaled five goals and eight points in his last four games, including his second career hat trick against the Flames.
The 20-year-old Perreault — the team’s 2023 first-round pick — has gone 3-4-7 over his past five to match his goal total over his first 31 NHL appearances.
“I think the way [Lafrenière] has been and even Gabe, I don’t think the mistakes get to them the same way maybe when you have that confidence,” said Zibanejad, who notched his 800th career point Tuesday night. “As their linemate, I don’t mind [mistakes]. Make plays, make mistakes and we learn from it. But you have to keep playing.
“So they’ve been awesome. Happy for Laf to get that hat trick. It’s been fun to watch and fun to play with those guys.”
After winning just three of their final 18 games (3-13-2) before the leaguewide shutdown in early February, the Rangers suddenly have lost only once in regulation in their last seven contests (4-1-2) since the restart.
“Obviously I’m happy for the guys. I think they are competing hard and they are playing for one another,” Sullivan said. “They’re executing for the most part. It’s not perfect. But I think these guys are competing extremely hard.
“One of the things we talked about coming out of the break was just trying to use this as a fresh start, hit the reset button and then trying to feel good about what we do every day and see where it takes us.”
A strong finish for the 24-year-old Lafrenière, who is signed through the 2031-32 season, and getting Perreault established as a productive forward at the NHL level are among the most important questions the Rangers (26-30-8) need to answer over their final 18 games heading into the summer.
The newly formed Zibanejad line is at least giving them some reason for optimism.
“They’ve been unbelievable. … Every time they get [the puck], they can make a play, and for me, it’s just trying to help them as much as I can and just trying to get open for them,” Lafrenière said. “Winning games, this year has been not the best for us. We struggled. But post-break we’ve been winning some games. And it feels a lot better, for sure. … It makes it more fun.”
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