Postgame takeaways: Chytil, Panarin lead NY Rangers to bounce-back win in Seattle

The Rangers' longest road trip of the season began, ironically, with a fork in the road.

They headed west on the heels of Thursday's worrisome loss to the Nashville Predators − a performance in which their captain, Jacob Trouba, said his team got "outworked," "outbattled" and "outcompeted."

That left head coach Peter Laviolette with a decision to make.

Should he shake things up to send a message? Or should he stay the course and see how his new team responds?

Laviolette wisely opted for the latter approach.

He trotted out an identical lineup Saturday in Seattle − minus the goalie, which we'll get to momentarily − and got just the result he was hoping for.

The Rangers looked like a different team in their 4-1 win over the Kraken, even though their skaters were arranged exactly the same.

They brushed aside an odd lighting issue at Climate Pledge Arena that left one side of the ice darker than the other, forcing the teams to switch nets every 10 minutes, and turned in their most complete performance since opening night in Buffalo.

Artemi Panarin leads the way

The onus is on New York's top-six forwards to prove they can make the current line combinations work.

Their emphatic bounce back should convince Laviolette to let them roll for the foreseeable future.

They followed the lead of Artemi Panarin, who came out flying to continue his stellar start to the season.

Justin Schultz gave Seattle a brief 1-0 lead at the 8:41 mark of the first period, but Panarin would wipe it away less than four minutes later. He found a gaping hole on the far side of the Kraken defense, gathered a cross-ice pass from Filip Chytil and whipped a top-shelf wrister past goalie Philipp Grubauer.

That extended Panarin's season-opening point streak to five games, during which he's posted a team-high seven points (three goals and four assists).

He's easily been the Rangers' most dangerous offensive player, but he's also been noticeable with his defensive efforts. The 31-year-old is forechecking, backchecking and hunting for turnovers, helping set the tone for Laviolette's defense-first philosophy. The coach rewarded No. 10 by giving him extra shifts throughout the game, as he collected two goals and five shots in 18:39 time on ice.

Panarin's first goal left the score knotted at 1-1 heading into the second period, kickstarting a big night for his line with Chytil and Alexis Lafrenière.

Second period separation

The Rangers (3-2) would seize control in the middle 20 minutes.

They were noticeably more engaged on the forecheck, with their 1-3-1 neutral-zone trap clamping down harder as the game went on. New York scored just as many goals in the second period (two) as they allowed shots on goal.

They stood especially tall during back-to-back penalty kills early in the period, smothering the Kraken by allowing only one SOG across 3:42 of PK time.

That kept the score tied at 1-1, with the go-ahead goal coming from Kaapo Kakko at 13:02 mark. He pounced on a rebound that was sitting right on the goal line, the result of a Trouba shot that trickled past Grubauer. It marked the 22-year-old's first goal of the season and 100th point of his career.

Kakko's line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad looked much better than they did Thursday, out-shooting the Kraken, 7-5, while posting an 81.88% xGF, according to Natural Stat Trick. But the true difference-maker was that Panarin-Chytil-Lafrenière trio.

Filip Chytil's breakthrough performance

Lafrenière concluded the second period with his second goal of the season − a one-timer from the slot that was setup by the quick hands of Chytil, who danced through traffic and found his linemate with a saucy backhanded feed.

That made it 3-1, with that line connecting one more time for the Rangers' fourth and final goal. It came at the 5:30 mark of the third period on Panarin's second tally of the night.

Chytil earned an assist on the play for the first three-point game of his career. He was pushing hard to add a goal to the scoresheet, as well, with a team-high 11 shot attempts, including five on goal and another that hit the post in the third period.

The 24-year-old entered with only one assist through his first four games as he attempts to lockdown the second-line center spot, but a breakthrough performance in Seattle should aid his cause. Laviolette acknowledged Chytil's hot hand by giving him more TOI (19:04) than any other forward.

Jonathan Quick earns first win as a Ranger

Not to be lost in the shuffle is the first win as a Ranger for goalie Jonathan Quick.

The longtime L.A. King waited patiently for his first start, with his number finally called in Seattle. The 37-year-old is coming off his worst NHL season and didn't do much to alleviate concerns with an .807 save percentage during the preseason, but Saturday should quiet the doubters for at least a few days.

Quick didn't face a heavy workload with 19 shots, but credit him for stopping 18 of them. He made two huge saves in the final 10 seconds of the first period, then flashed the glove on Oliver Bjorkstrand's screaming one-timer during the Kraken's first power play.

The Rangers were excellent in front of him, as well. They limited Seattle to just two high-danger scoring chances in a spirited defensive effort − a far cry from what we saw two nights ago against the Preds.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Postgame takeaways: NY Rangers earn bounce-back win in Seattle