The New York Rangers’ line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith are off to an interesting start. While they’ve shown some flashes of solid play, the trio has been inconsistent with their low points catching the eye of many. Offensively they have not been able to generate as much pressure and high quality chances, which is a little bit of a surprise. The line of Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Will Cuylle have emerged into a lethal combination, causing Kreider, Zibanejad and Smith’s minutes to decrease. It hasn’t all been all bad for these three veteran forwards, but Peter Laviolette is looking to get more consistent play out of them. Stan Fischler talks about Matt Rempe. “I think it changes from game to game,” Laviolette said about what he wants to see from the Kreider, Zibanejad and Smith line. “I think it’s just about finding that consistency with them game after game after game, where nine out of ten times I’m happy with it. It’s just the consistency. They are capable players, they are good players.” Given the talent this combination possesses, it’s only a matter of time before it starts to click and they truly figure it out. Kreider and Zibanejad have been consistently great alongside each other for years and adding Smith should only elevate them in the long run. Age is a factor with the three forwards all in their 30s, but they’ve shown in recent years that age is not much of an issue. We are not even ten games into the season, so there is no need to push the panic button.
