Panarin, Kreider have got to produce

Two of the Rangers’ most potent offensive catalysts largely have been silenced by the Hurricanes through five games.

Tangible production from star wingers Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider and their respective lines Saturday night at the Garden likely will be a key for the Rangers — now trailing 3-2 in the secondround series following a 3-1 loss Thursday in Game 5 in Raleigh, N.C. — to stay alive by winning a fourth consecutive elimination game during this postseason.

“I’m not going to sit here and blame Panarin, or Kreider. They’re character players, they’ll do it for us. They’ve done it for us all year,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said Friday.

Indeed, Gallant reiterated what he had said following Game 5, that his team’s third road loss in this series against Carolina had been a “total team effort.”

Still, Panarin and Kreider had enjoyed a productive first-round series in helping the Rangers come back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Penguins with a combined eight goals and 14 points. That total included the Game 7 overtime “Bread-winner” by Panarin.

The team’s highest-paid player also assisted on the Rangers’ lone goal Thursday night, but Panarin was held to zero shots on net for the second time in the series.

Kreider, a 52-goal scorer during the regular season, netted five more in the seven games against Pittsburgh. But he has been limited to one score and zero assists by the Hurricanes, with he and center Mika Zibanejad often hounded by Carolina’s checking line, anchored by center Jordan Staal.