Rangers hoping for resurgence from Filip Chytil's line with rookie Brett Berard added to it

On Sunday, the day before the Rangers’ game against the Panthers in Florida, Filip Chytil was talking about the importance of the Blueshirts getting their confidence back. And against the Panthers, Chytil played with a ton of confidence, carrying the puck forcefully up the middle of the ice, firing a game-high seven shots on goal — plus another off the post — and eventually scoring a goal, which brought the Rangers back into a game in which they trailed by two.

“I thought he was great last game,’’ said Chytil’s linemate, Will Cuylle. “I thought our line was really good. We generated a lot. We had a few goals against, but I thought offensively, we were really good at generating a lot. And Fil was obviously really good, a big goal there to get us back in the game.’’

It was Chytil’s seventh goal of the season but his first point in six games, and it had the look of something that could serve as a spark for the Rangers, who played the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at the Garden. They were trying to end a four-game losing streak and break out of a funk in which they had lost 15 of their last 19 games.

For most of the first month of the season, the Rangers’ third line, with Chytil, Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko, was their most dynamic. Then an upper-body injury that knocked Chytil out of seven games and the ongoing struggles of the team took away from the line’s early-season effectiveness.

But after the Dec. 18 trade of Kakko to Seattle, the line — with rookie Brett Berard stepping into Kakko’s spot — could be poised for a resurgence. And that would be a welcome sight for a team that needs all the positives it can get right now.

“They had a great start to the year with Kaapo, and now that he’s gone, I’m kind of in the spot there to step in and try to see what I can do with it,’’ Berard said. “I’m really excited and happy that they have that trust in me to kind of see what I can do there.’’

Berard, a speedy 5-9, 175-pound pest who buzzes around, gets in people’s faces, drives the net and shoots often, looks nothing on the ice like the 6-1, 215-pound Kakko, who worked the boards, slowed the game down and liked to possess the puck in the offensive zone to create chances for his linemates.

“I guess it changes the dynamic a bit,’’ Cuylle said. “They’re different players, so obviously it’s gonna be a little different. But we still have the same mindset going into every game: try to dominate. And I think [Berard]’s getting better every game. Getting confidence. I just try to tell him, just play your game and be confident. Hold on to the puck. I think he’s doing pretty well so far.’’

“We’re all fast guys [and] I think we’re all smart,’’ Berard said. “Having Fil in the middle there attacking the ice with speed is what he did in that Florida game. It seemed to have a lot of success with us.’’

If the line of Cuylle, 22, Chytil, 25, and Kakko, 23, was a second version of the Kid Line — the original trio of Chytil, Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere was a revelation in the 2022 playoffs — then plugging the 22-year-old Berard in for Kakko makes this the third iteration of the Kid Line.

Against Florida, the trio played seven minutes and 21 seconds together, and while it was outscored 2-1, the Rangers outshot the Panthers 12-6 while the three were on the ice and out-attempted them 18-11. In the line’s 16:22 together over two games, against Florida and Tampa Bay, the Rangers outshot opponents 19-10, out-attempted them 27-16 and had more scoring chances (15-10) and more high-danger chances (8-4), according to the analytics site Natural Stat Trick.

Overall, Cuylle had 11 goals and 24 points going into Thursday, both third-most on the team, and Berard had two goals and two assists in 14 games since his Nov. 24 call-up from AHL Hartford. Chytil had seven goals and six assists in 29 games.

“Berard’s a little bit different player than Kaapo,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said. “The line has been good. It had its best game, I think, last game [against Florida]. It just generated an awful lot of chances. Berard seems to be in the mix offensively . . . It’s a different player, younger player . . . but he brings speed, he brings enthusiasm, he brings a tenacity on the ice. And the plays are getting made.’’

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.