Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant will only use it when absolutely necessary.
The star-studded line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin is a top-unit combination that Gallant keeps up his sleeve, until the Rangers are clearly in dire need of a game-changing spark. It’s as if the trio is tucked away behind a sign with red lettering that reads: In case of emergency, break glass.
So with the Rangers down a pair of forwards for their matchup against the Kings on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, Gallant had the perfect excuse to turn to his All-Star line (Yes, Panarin isn’t an All-Star this season, but he easily could’ve been).
“Is it going to be long term? Maybe, but probably not,” Gallant said after the morning skate. “We’ll see, mix and match our lines a little bit. It was obviously real good last time, but it’s about our team. It’s not about one line. Whatever makes us better and it made us better last game, so we’ll see where it goes.”
After Kaapo Kakko’s last-minute scratch threw off the lineup prior to Saturday’s game against the Coyotes, Gallant first placed Dryden Hunt on the top line next to Kreider and Zibanejad. But the Rangers trailed the second-worst team in the NHL early in the first period, prompting Gallant to bump Panarin up a unit.
That certainly classified as an emergency.
Kreider, Zibanejad and Panarin started the second period and helped their team take hold of the game, allowing the Rangers to rally to a 7-3 victory. The Big 3 produced the Rangers’ 5-3 score at the end of the middle frame, when Kreider finished an odd-man rush, but also combined for four goals, five assists and eight shots on net.
When asked if he’d rather spread the firepower throughout the rest of the lineup, Gallant cited the recent Arizona game.
“Not when it worked like it worked last game,” he said. “Depends how the other lines are going. It’s been, in my opinion, a pretty good year so far for our team. Not all people believe that, but for me, I believe it. Things are going good.
“We’ve mixed and matched all year. I know the players have no issue with it. We do different things and it’s all about trying to win.”
Last season under David Quinn, the Kreider-Zibanejad-Panarin line logged just 11:04 together, according to Natural Stat Trick. Entering Monday, Gallant had lined those three up for 47:04 this season, over which they’d generated a goal and 30 scoring chances — 11 of which were high danger.
Zibanejad noted that it may be a little different for Panarin, who has to play on his off-side on the right wing when those three skate together, but added that they have to make the most of the situation. It’s not lost on Zibanejad that Gallant unites that line when the Rangers need a boost, leaving it up to the threesome to deliver.
“You never say no to that,” Zibanejad said of playing with two elite wingers. “I don’t think me or Kreids have to change anything. We’re three very different players and just got to take advantage of each other’s strengths. I think that’s what we did last game. Hopefully we can continue that and just keep going like that.”