Its time the Rangers Kid Line be what Triplets were for Tampa in 2015

The New York Rangers are down 3-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Since game three the Rangers offense has been a no show at 5v5 play. The Rangers top six needs to get going at 5v5 but also the Kids Line needs to get back to the way they were playing before Game Three in Tampa.  If the Blueshirts have any hope of winning this series, they need the kids  to rival what Tampa’s Triplets line did in the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers.

In the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals an unexpected line for Tampa came up clutch in the series. The Triplets, as they were called, were comprised of 22-year-old Nikita Kucherov, 24-year-old Tyler Johnson, and 24-year-old Ondrej Palat.  In that 2015 series Tyler Johnson led Tampa in scoring with nine points. In second place with eight points was Nikita Kucherov, and tied for third was Ondrej Palat with seven points.

The line didn’t just get points, but they scored when it mattered. Kucherov scored the game winning goal on a breakaway in the third period of Game Seven to break the scoreless tie. The goal was assisted by Johnson as two-thirds of the line contributed. The line was the driving factor in Tampa getting to the Cup Final along with the Rangers inability to score at home.

The Kid Line

In Game Six tonight,  it’s time for the Kid Line to regain its form. In this postseason the Kid Line has not dominated in the score sheet, but where they have dominated is in bringing energy and creating chances in the other team’s zone. They have been good at creating pressure in the offensive zone and scoring some timely goals.

The Kid Line has been used as an energy line during the playoffs. Their goals have changed momentum and the shifts were they haven’t scored but had sustained pressure has given energy to the team when they seemed flat.

Game Five against Pittsburgh is a good example. Alexis Lafrenière tied the game a minute and a half after Adam Fox made it a one-goal game.

The goal completely swung momentum on their side which resulted in Jacob Trouba scoring 72 seconds after Lafrenière . When Pittsburgh tied it at three, Filip Chytil came through with a power play goal for the game winner.

Another example was in Game Seven against Carolina.  Just 40 seconds after Carolina scored to make it 4-1 with about 12 minutes to go, Filip Chytil scored the dagger and effectively ended Carolina’s season.

There was still enough time for Carolina to come back and Chytil and the Kid Line ended any hope for the Hurricanes, turning the momentum fully back to the Rangers.

They didn’t stop when the Conference Finals began.  In Game Two, it was Kaapo Kakko who scored the game winning goal against the Lightning.

Assisted by Chytil, those were the last points for any member of the Kid Line in this series.

It’s time

With Filip Chytil dealing with an upper body injury now, it may be tough for the line to play to that level again. But his injury doesn’t mean Kakko and Lafrenière can’t get back to that level again. Maybe now they can be the ones to finish off some of the chances rather than Chytil.

The Rangers are now in full desperation mode as they go back to Tampa on the brink of elimination. One way for the Rangers to not only bring the series back to New York, but win the series is for the Kids to get back to their game and be the difference maker just as the Triplets were for Tampa in 2015.

They can do it.  No Ranger fan will ever forget that unbelievable shift in Game One versus Tampa that resulted in a Chytil goal.  Here is the shift, in its entirety.  Watch it  and believe.