TARRYTOWN - The Rangers have played 287 combined games between the regular season and playoffs since the trade their fans don't like to speak of − you know, the one that sent top-line fixture Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues − and they're still searching for his replacement.

It's been nearly three years of looking for that elusive right-wing pot of gold, with lots of attempts but very few success stories.

"At times, there's been individuals that have jumped up there and played well," head coach Peter Laviolette said Wednesday. "If it's not going exactly the way we want it to go and you see somebody else going in the lineup, you make a change. You make a switch. There's been times when I thought (Jack Roslovic) was really good there. (Tuesday), I saw Kaapo (Kakko) having an impact on the game and made a switch there. Fil (Chytil) coming back is a top-six player. His first time up on that line, I thought it was good. He gave them a spark, so to me, it's just finding the right person and the mix to make that line a line that we see more in the offensive zone. More production, more zone time, more attempts, more chances. If there's something that we can do, we'll make the switch."

Three different forwards have taken turns in the No. 1 RW spot next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad during these playoffs, with Kakko becoming the latest during the second half of Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final.

This came two games after the 23-year-old was a surprise healthy scratch, adding to the roller-coaster feel of the situation.

"I moved him up because it appeared to me that he was making things happen," Laviolette said. "He was physical. He was heavy into battles and just a noticeable player. In a game where we needed to have more − we needed to have more puck possession, we need more physicality − I thought he brought some of that. So, I made that switch. And just overall, my conversations with him have been about having that impact on the game, which I saw last game and I'd like to see on a consistent basis."

Blake Wheeler: Veteran forward gives perspective on Game 4 ending

Despite Laviolette's positive assessment, the line didn't receive much of a jolt after the move. They were out-attempted, 11-4, and out-chanced, 7-1, in 5:48 time on ice with Roslovic on Tuesday, according to Natural Stat Trick, followed by 8-1 and 3-1 disadvantages in those categories in 5:55 with Kakko.

Thursday's morning skate in advance of Game 5 at 8 p.m. at Madison Square Garden kept the revolving door turning. Chytil was back skating with Kreider and Zibanejad after getting healthy scratched for Game 4, as the Rangers try to manage his workload after he missed more than six months.

"I didn't decide about it," Chytil said when asked how the scratch came to be. "That's not my job, but of course, I didn't play for so long. I wouldn't help the team at all if I would jump in there and wouldn't be ready or be without energy or something like that. Every game matters in the playoffs, and we've got to win every game. That was their decision."

The 24-year-old played 1RW in Games 2 and 3, and much like the others, produced uneven results.

Shot attempts were 39-18 to Florida's favor with Kreider, Zibanejad and Chytil on the ice, while shots on goal sat at 14-5. They failed to score a goal while allowing one on six high-danger scoring chances, with no HDCF of their own to speak of.

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

"I'm trying, of course, to bring some energy there, as well," Chytil said. "I'm talking to them a lot during the games, in the trainings, and they're great. They've helped me, as well, and it's been a pleasure for me to play with them."

The lack of consistency at 1RW has been an obvious problem, but it's unfair to expect any of the players who have been tried there − especially one who's played only four games in a span of nearly seven months − to solve all the top-line issues. It ultimately falls on Kreider and Zibanejad to figure it out.

They're the ones the Rangers have relied on for years to be key offensive producers − but that has not been the case through four games against the Panthers, during which neither has recorded a point.

"We've got to do a better job of advancing picks up the ice and establishing O-zone presence," Kreider said following Game 4. "A lot of that falls on me. I’ve got to be able to get in there and win pucks – get my body on pucks, move my feet and allow us to get up the ice and start rolling, then cut back and make some plays at the net."

Kreider has gone from the high of his series-clinching hat trick in the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes to a pit of frustration. He failed to registered a shot on goal Tuesday, with only five total through four games of the ECF. And while he admirably placed the blame squarely on his shoulders, there's no question that Zibanejad shares it.

No. 93 has also gone ice cold in this series, and it's not just when matched up with two-time Selke Trophy winner Aleksander Barkov. The Rangers have been outshot, 16-8, when those top centers go head-to-head, but it's been even more lopsided against the Panthers' second line of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett and Evan Rodrigues. Shots on goal are 17-3 in Florida's favor when Zibanejad is up against Bennett, while attempts are 41-6. Florida's top defensive pair of Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling has smothered them, as well, to the tune of 26-7 SOG and 66-22 attempts.

That scoring slump has bled into Zibanejad's decision-making process, with his ill-advised pass and resulting giveaway in the first minute of overtime turning out to be the most costly play of Game 4.

"I can't change it now," he said of the turnover that forced Blake Wheeler to take a hooking penalty and set up Florida's game-winning, power-play goal. "If that goes in, it's a great play. It didn’t this time. That’s sports. Just come back and try to make better decisions next time and hope that goes my way."

Asked if he's given consideration to splitting up the longtime Kreider-Zibanejad duo, Laviolette said, "I’m going to pass on any lineup questions." But should come as no surprise that he's keeping them together for Game 5, particularly after sticking with it through some extended droughts this season.

There doesn't appear to be any turning back now.

Zibanejad is coming off his least productive goal-scoring season since his first in New York back in 2016-17, but those criticisms will be easily forgotten if he can get it going at this critical juncture. The Rangers are banking on it, otherwise this magical run could come to a sour end.

"We gotta play better," Laviolette said. "We needed to get out of our end better. We needed to get through the neutral zone better, and enter the offensive zone. By the eyeball, everybody saw the same thing. It's not hockey genius here."

NY Rangers (10-4) projected lineup: Game 5, Eastern Conference Final, vs. Florida Panthers (10-5)

When: Thursday, May 30 at 8 p.m.

Where: Madison Square Garden

TV/Radio: ESPN/98.7 FM

Forwards

Top line ⊳ Chris Kreider (LW) ⋄ Mika Zibanejad (C) ⋄ Filip Chytil (RW)

Second line ⊳ Artemi Panarin (LW) ⋄ Vincent Trocheck (C) ⋄ Alexis Lafrenière (RW)

Third line ⊳ Jack Roslovic (LW) ⋄ Alex Wennberg (C) ⋄ Kaapo Kakko (RW)

Fourth line ⊳ Will Cuylle (LW) ⋄ Barclay Goodrow (C) ⋄ Matt Rempe (RW)

Defensemen

Top pair ⊳ Ryan Lindgren (L) ⋄ Adam Fox (R)

Second pair ⊳ K'Andre Miller (L) ⋄ Braden Schneider (R)

Third pair ⊳ Erik Gustafsson (L) ⋄ Jacob Trouba (R)

Goalies

Starter ⊳ Igor Shesterkin

Backup ⊳ Jonathan Quick

Injured: F Jimmy Vesey (upper body)

Healthy scratches: F Jonny Brodzinski, G Louis Domingue, F Adam Edström, D Zac Jones, D Chad Ruhwedel and F Blake Wheeler

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: Game 5 lineup: Rangers need Kreider, Zibanejad to snap out of it