Rangers' Vincent Trocheck has meshed well on a line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere

NEWARK – When the Rangers signed center Vincent Trocheck as a free agent from the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer of 2022, the idea was that he would add grit, win faceoffs, and generally be an upgrade over Ryan Strome, who was allowed to leave as a free agent.

Although the 30-year-old Pittsburgh native did have a good season in all those respects, the one thing he didn’t seem to have was the kind of chemistry with Artemi Panarin that Strome had had in their three seasons together. For most of last season, Trocheck and Panarin were OK together – but they just didn’t seem to make magic.

They are now, though.

After not starting the season as linemates, Trocheck and Panarin were reunited two weeks ago, when Filip Chytil went on injured reserve with an upper-body injury suffered in the Nov. 2 win over Carolina. And in the four games since then, entering Saturday night’s meeting with the rival Devils at the Prudential Center, Trocheck and Panarin, along with right winger Alexis Lafrenière, have combined to form the Rangers’ hottest forward line.

“From a 5-on-5 standpoint, they're probably our most effective line,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said after the Rangers’ shootout win Sunday over the Columbus Blue Jackets. “They're in the offensive zone, and they're generating chances constantly. And so they've done a really good job of establishing that offensive zone identity.’’

Laviolette, who took over as Rangers coach in the summer, replacing Gerard Gallant, had said at the start of training camp that one of his priorities would be to give opportunities to the three young forwards who made up the third line last season – Chytil, Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko. And at the start of the season, he had Kakko up on the first line, and Chytil and Lafrenière on the second line, with Panarin.

The Panarin-Chytil-Lafrenière line was off to a fast start, largely driven by the play of Panarin, who entered Saturday having scored a point in each of the Rangers’ first 14 games, tying Rod Gilbert’s franchise record. But both Lafrenière and Chytil were having strong starts as well, until Chytil was forced to leave the Carolina game after a jarring, if inadvertent collision with former teammate Jesper Fast.

Trocheck, who entered Saturday as the NHL’s leader in faceoff winning percentage (64.4%) and who plays on the first power play and also kills penalties, had played the first 10 games of the season on the third line, between rookie Will Cuylle and free agent addition Blake Wheeler. With Chytil out, he moved up to play between Panarin and Lafrenière, and the line has been just as good, if not better.

“Vinny's done a really good job moving up in there and adding… a little bit of a different element,’’ Laviolette said. “That's a north-south, physical guy that's heavy on the pucks, and wins faceoffs, and yet still has an unbelievable skill level, to complement those two players.’’

The line has looked so good, it is virtually impossible to imagine Laviolette breaking it up if and when Chytil returns. Trocheck, Panarin and Lafrenière all had three goals in the four games they’ve been together (though one of Trocheck’s goals had come on a power play.

According to Trocheck, the chemistry between him and his new linemates should not have come as a surprise.

“I played with ‘Bread’ (Panarin) all of last year, so I’ve got some chemistry with him,’’ Trocheck said. “I played with ‘Laf’ a handful of games last year, and I thought we were really good last year whenever he was on our line. For whatever reason, we weren't able to stay together, but I think we have a good mesh of talent.’’

As for how his role may have changed since Chytil went down, Trocheck said he doesn’t think it has.

“I don't think it's changed,’’ he said. “I'm still playing the same scenarios… playing pretty much the same amount of time. It’s just a change of scenery.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.