Vincent Trocheck’s vintage night for Rangers shows facing old team isn’t just another game

Just another series.

Sure.

Believe that at the risk of your own gullibility.

Vincent Trocheck, entering this Stanley Cup second-round playoff series against the Hurricanes, did his best to deflect the anticipated attention coming his way regarding playing against his former team in these Stanley Cup playoffs.

Trocheck, the Rangers’ 30-year-old center who played three seasons in Carolina before signing with the Rangers as a free agent prior to last season, delivered a vintage Trocheck game in Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Hurricanes in Game 1 at the Garden in that he was all over the ice and did everything — a true 200-foot player.

“He’s a Swiss Army knife for us,” Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider said after the victory. “He’s great in the faceoff circle. He’s great in the D-zone, he’s great at skating pucks through the neutral zone, and he’s able to produce. He does it all — blocks shots, kills penalties. It just goes to show how much he wants to win and how much we value him on this team.”

Trocheck’s biggest moment of the afternoon in front of an electric Garden capacity crowd came when he gave the Rangers a 3-1 lead with 3:32 remaining in the first period.

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He dished a pass to Mika Zibanejad (who scored the first two goals of the game for the Rangers) and, after Zibanejad’s shot on Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen was saved, Trocheck was there in front for the rebound. He buried it.

In his typical down-play fashion, Trocheck was matter-of-fact about the goal when asked about it afterward.

“We got possession at the draw and we were just trying to find open ice,” he said. “Mika made a play and the rebound came to me in the slot and all I had to do was put it in the net.”

It was a power-play goal that came a mere 14 seconds after Evgeny Kuznetzov was sent off for cross checking Adam Fox in the face to the side of the Rangers net.

Trocheck’s rapid payback for Kuznetsov’s lack of discipline was his fourth goal in five playoff games this spring.

Scoring, however, wasn’t the only element to Trocheck’s effect on this game. His 20:26 of ice time was second most on the team. He had two blocked shots, three shots on goal and won 55 percent of his faceoffs.

In the lead-up to the Rangers’ first-round series against Washington, coach Peter Laviolette said this of Trocheck: “You’re talking about a player who touches every part of our game. He plays high minutes. He has been reliable. He is part of one of the top lines in the league with regards to producing offense. He is someone that we count on, that I count on and rely on.”

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After Sunday’s game, this was Laviolette on Trocheck: “It’s not just tonight. It’s been the entire year. He’s been a guy that has been counted on for so many situations. His level of play in all situations has been excellent.

“He’s somebody that we just count on from both sides of the puck _ offensively and defensively. Tonight was more just a reflection of the regular season.”

With the Hurricanes having tied the game at 1-1 just 1:02 after the Rangers took a 1-0 lead on Zibanejad’s first goal, it was Trocheck assisting on Zibanejad’s second goal, this one with 9:55 remaining in the first period.

Trocheck fed Chris Kreider in front of Andersen and Kreider delivered a no-look back pass to Zibanejad for the one-timer goal.

That production gave Trocheck eight points in five playoff games — not coincidentally all Ranger wins.

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Trocheck, too, was a force on the Rangers’ penalty kill, helping them stave off four Carolina power-play chances, which is saying something considering the Hurricanes own one of the top power plays in the NHL.

“He does everything for us,” Kreider said. “Vin’s been doing that all year for us. He’s been incredible.”

This came as little surprise to Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour, who coached Trocheck for his three seasons with the Hurricanes.

“We talked about [Trocheck] before the series — we had him for a long time,” he said. “Great player. He does everything. Very, very valuable.”

A special night for Trocheck — whether he admitted it publicly or not.

“It’s just another series,” Trocheck said this past week. “I’ve played against these guys a bunch of times already since leaving. Playing against former teams isn’t something that’s new to me.”

Playing against them in the playoffs, however, surely had to be different, though, no?

“It’s the same answer as the other day,” Trocheck said after the game, showing zero emotion. “Just another series we’ve got to win.”

Sure.

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