Why David Quinn has already blown up Rangers top line

Nobody ever projected Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich would become the linear descendants of Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert, but neither did anyone suggest that the Blueshirts’ putative first unit would be split up after six periods.

“If you’d told that to me before the season, I’d have looked at you a little weirdly, but after our two games together I’m not surprised because I saw how we played together,” Zibanejad told The Post following Wednesday’s practice. “I honestly thought we had some good looks, but we couldn’t capitalize and we didn’t score. Sometimes you start off really hot, and sometimes you don’t.

“We have a new coach and he’s trying to see which combinations jell, and rightfully so. That doesn’t mean this change is permanent, but we haven’t won yet, so changing things up is perfectly understandable to me.”

The new coach, David Quinn, dressed 11 forwards in Carolina on Sunday. Kreider and Zibanejad skated primarily with Jesper Fast while Buchnevich played the right side on the unit with Jimmy Vesey and Kevin Hayes. But for Thursday’s match at the Garden against the Sharks, Buchnevich will move to the left with Zibanejad and Fast while Kreider skates with Brett Howden and Mats Zuccarello.

And with Kevin Hayes skating between Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Spooner, the Blueshirts will present a first-line-by-committee look in attempting to avoid their first 0-4 getaway since 1998-99 and first opening four-game winless streak since the 2003-04 club’s 0-2-2 (two ties) false start.

“No. 1, it’s about the entire lineup,” Quinn said when asked about breaking up the KZB Unit. “No. 2, and I said this to Kreids, too, but is wanting to see [him] with Howden a demotion?”

The question was a rhetorical one. Howden seems to have at least temporarily leap-frogged Filip Chytil on the depth chart in moving into a top-nine role (with a top-three winger on his left) and a second power-play assignment.

“They’re so interchangeable,” Quinn said, in discussing the rookie centers. “These are kids who are going to have their ups and downs. Howden is energetic, he’s smart. It’s not a knock on Chytil. He’s a big-time talent.”

Quinn also said he is anxious to see the left-handed shooting Buchnevich on his natural side. The coach envisions No. 89 being more of a playmaker on the left. That may be what Zibanejad, more of a shooter than a dispatcher, requires.

“Pavel has always played the right side, where he is on his backhand a lot,” Quinn said. “He’s got really good skill. He’ll be on his forehand more on the left, so he might have the puck more and make more plays. It’s something for us to take a look at.”

It’s funny, isn’t it? and not in a laugh out loud kind of way. Just about whenever the Rangers require an adjustment in their lines, Fast seems to fall upward. Wasn’t an Alain Vigneault thing, after all.

“The three of us should work well together,” Zibanejad said of the threesome that according to NaturalStattrick.com spent a total of 34 seconds together at even strength last season. “We have to work on the little details but I think we complement each other well.”
Zibanejad recorded five goals while scoring in each of the team’s first four games last season, with four on the power play. He scored two goals in his first four games as a Ranger two years ago.

“It’s not quite there, but I have 13 shots and that’s about where I want to be,” said Zibanejad, who leads the club in that category. “I got off to fast starts each of my first two years and sometimes when you don’t get off to a hot start, maybe you try and do too much. That’s something I have to guard against.

“But I can tell you that I am not panicking and neither is anyone here. Things haven’t gone our way yet, but we believe in each other and in what we’re trying to do. If we stay with it and play the right way, success will come. We have a lot of good players and we are sticking together.”

Well, not Kreider, Zibanejad and Buchnevich.

At least not for Game 3 and the start of Game 4.