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 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.
“There comes a point in a career where you’re not 18 anymore,” Laviolette said when asked about promoting Chytil to the second line earlier this season. “You’re not your first year in the league, and you’ve taken steps to prove that you’re a really good player. I think at that point, you have to expand your mind on what the potential is of that player.”
Speaking of, Panarin 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. His second goal of the night came 5 ½ minutes into the third period, when Panarin 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 due to 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.
Seattle struck first off an offensive-zone draw that was brought about by a Rangers icing. Schultz ripped a tough-angled one-timer past Jonathan Quick for the 1-0 lead at the 8:41 mark of the opening period.
The Rangers, however, were much more engaged than their last game. Panarin answered for the Rangers with a snipe from the right faceoff circle off a sharp cross-zone feed from Chytil.
Both first-period goals happened to unfold on the darker side of the ice.
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 time playing on a line together despite all three skating in the same lineup for three years now.
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