As the search for sustained offense continues, the New York Rangers may need to shake up their forward lines to generate this offense. While the Rangers and Panthers have certainly played each other well, the Blueshirts have just two goals this series, both at 5v5 ironically enough. With Jimmy Vesey out, the Rangers should stretch their lineup a bit, trying to get more offense out of a group struggling to generate.

Without last change, Peter Laviolette is going to have to find creative ways to get offense. The Artemi Panarin line is most certainly going to draw the top defensive assignments from Paul Maurice and Florida. The Mika Zibanejad line may get the same treatment as well.

But most importantly, the Panthers will be able to get the Aleksander Barkov and Matt Tkachuk lines away from the Zibanejad line, which was Peter Laviolette’s preferred option. Expect the Panthers to try to get both of these lines out against Panarin and Barclay Goodrow to exploit favorable matchups. It’s not a slight against either line, just the likely preferred matchup for Maurice.

Also expect Maurice to try to get his top scoring lines away from the K’Andre Miller-Jacob Trouba pairing.

For the Rangers to stretch the lineup and perhaps take advantage of what Maurice is most likely to do, the Rangers might want to make that third line into an offensive line. As it stands through two games, the Alex Wennberg line isn’t getting the prime shutdown minutes, making his primary skill set somewhat useless against the bottom half of Florida’s lineup.

This is where putting Chytil as the 3C and Wennberg as the 4C will stretch the offense while perhaps giving the Rangers another realistic option at a shutdown line. Two goals isn’t going to be enough for the Blueshirts, and Florida is simply too skilled to be held to two goals of their own accord through two games as well.

If we assume one of Kaapo Kakko or Jack Roslovic is back on the top line, preferably Kakko if that line is going to try to draw tougher matchups, then a third line with Will Cuylle and Roslovic as the wingers could provide an offensive jolt against weaker matchups.

Quite honestly, it’s a bit surprising Chytil hasn’t been moved back to center yet. He doesn’t need to be eased back into the lineup anymore, and he’s individually looked solid. But individually solid doesn’t mean the line looks solid. Shifting him to 3C and Wennberg to 4C also shifts Goodrow to wing, a better spot for him at this point in his career. Remember, his game winner was with him as the wing in a rotation.

In the end, this is just one person’s opinion. Peter Laviolette has earned the benefit of the doubt with the lineup decisions. He’s the first coach since John Tortorella that hasn’t made us pull our hair out with lines and roster spots. We will see what’s going through his mind as the lineup gets confirmed later this afternoon.

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