NEW YORK — Filip Chytil didn't sound crazy about the "Kid Line" nickname, but he didn't offer any strong objections, either.

"I don’t mind it," the 22-year-old center said prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final. "It is what it is."

He's more concerned with the way his line with fellow first-round draft picks Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko is performing. And after two encouraging rounds, they continued their upward trajectory Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

The kids played a pivotal role in the Rangers' series-opening 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, with Chytil leading the charge.

"He’s grown up to be a man," head coach Gerard Gallant said. "He's 22 years old and he's confident in his game and he feels good about his game. He always has, but now he's really stepping it up. Every time you watch him go out there and play, he's more confident. He's stronger on every puck. He's more confident in the faceoff circle, so he's just growing up."

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He scored twice to push his playoff total to seven goals, with five coming in the last three games.

The latest pair came in a span of 5:34 in the second period, with the first turning out to be the game-winner.

Shortly after Lightning forward Ondrej Palat tied the score at 2-2, the Kid Line produced a relentless shift that featured nearly a full minute of sustained offensive-zone time. It ended with Kakko dancing behind the net and weaving a pass through two defenders. Chytil was waiting in the slot and buried a one-timer to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead with 9:51 remaining in the period.

An even longer possession resulted in the second goal, with fellow 22-year-old K'Andre Miller sending a cross-ice pass right into Chytil's wheelhouse for another one-timer, this one from the right circle.

"We just move around, move our feet, just playing strong on the puck," Chytil said. "We know that all three guys can play with the puck and we are strong down low, and that was exactly what we were doing. That was exactly the same mindset that we had through the whole playoffs."

"We're young guys, so we don't think too much about anything else," he added. "We’re just having fun out there, playing hard and working for the team. Like I said many times, we want to help the team to win games and go as far as we can."

Even though he's barely old enough to order a drink, Chytil has already played in parts of five NHL seasons.

He's never registered more than 23 points, with inconsistency and injury holding him back from reaching his potential.

The height of his frustration came when he was a surprise healthy scratch for two consecutive games in late February, which led to a frank conversation with Gallant.

"I met with him probably after he sat out that one game, and he asked what I needed," the coach recalled. "I think I mentioned the (Mika) Zibanejad-type of hockey player. He's not a Zibanejad-type of hockey player, but he got the message."

What Gallant wanted was for Chytil to emulate Zibanejad by becoming a better two-way player, which meant working harder on defense while using his high-end speed to push the pace offensively.

There were noticeable improvements after that, but the results have been stark in the playoffs.

"I was working hard through the whole season," he said. "There were tough moments, so many chances when I couldn’t put it to the net. Maybe my hockey wasn't that bad, but when you’re not putting the puck in the net, you're not helping the team that much. Maybe I started to be a little frustrated, but now it's finally going in. I’m so happy that I can help the team like this."

There's a strong argument to make that Chytil has been the breakout star of the playoffs for the Rangers, which will not only benefit them in the present but solidify their center depth moving forward.

"Fil's a good kid," Gallant said. "He worked hard. He competes hard and he deserves what he's getting right now because he stepped his game up. He knows it and everybody knows it. And that's exactly what we need from him."

The young guys stole the headlines, but the Rangers put together an impressive team effort against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

After a straightforward, risk-adverse approach against the Carolina Hurricanes in round two – at least for the first five games – the Rangers came out wheeling and dealing against Tampa, with 11 different players registering at least one point.

"I told them to open it up a little bit," Gallant said with a smirk. "We're playing hard. I think when you compete hard defensively and you get opportunities like we did tonight – some two-on-ones and some power-play goals – that’s the recipe for us to win hockey games. We had great goaltending again and solid chances, and we buried our chances tonight."

They've now scored 17 goals in their last three games after mustering nine in their previous five.

The respect and tentativeness they showed in the face of the Hurricanes' aggressive forecheck has given way to a speed-and-skill game that befits their top players.

"The two teams definitely have a different strategy when it comes to offense and defense," Artemi Panarin said about the Lightning vs. the Canes. "Carolina is more man-on-man, so maybe that’s why there’s a difference in how we countered team."

MSG erupted just 1:11 into Game 1, as Zibanejad beat Nikita Kucherov to a loose puck, drew the defense and found Chris Kreider wide open in the slot. The Rangers' leading goal-scorer in these playoffs finished with a perfectly placed shot in between the post and Andrei Vasilevskiy's right arm to quickly give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.

They continued to push the pace in the opening five minutes, with the Lightning looking like a team that was searching for its sea legs after an eight-day layoff.

They seemed to find them temporarily, pinning the Rangers in their own zone for stretches in the first period. They ended those possessions with a screaming one-timer from Steven Stamkos, who took a pass from Jan Rutta and roofed it with a powerful shot that goalie Igor Shesterkin had no chance at.

The two teams continued to trade goals in the first half of the second period, with Frank Vatrano scoring for the Rangers before Palat tied it for the Lightning. But the Kid Line seized momentum from there and the Blueshirts never relinquished it.

Panarin opened the third period with his first even-strength goal since May 7 to make it 5-2, which was followed by a power-play goal from Zibanejad that put an exclamation point on the affair.

"We were sharp, for sure," Vatrano said. "We knew we needed to keep the puck. Make the plays east-west when they're there, but not forcing it. They have a good transition team, and that's what they want is to feed off turnovers. But we cleaned that up, played that north-south game and tried to open them up a little bit."

They took advantage of a Tampa team that may have been dealing with rust, particularly Vasilevskiy, who allowed six goals on 34 shots faced.

By the third period, fans at the Garden were chanting, "Igor's better! Igor's better!"

Shesterkin looked like his usual self, which is to say hard to beat. He robbed Kucherov on a few occasions and finished with 37 saves.

But as good as they looked Wednesday, the Rangers have learned enough in these playoffs to know they can't get cocky heading into Game 2 at 8 p.m. Friday back at MSG.

"It’s still just 1-0. It’s a new game on Friday," Zibanejad said. "We know it’s far from over."

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.