When the puck drops this afternoon at 33rd and 7th, the Rangers will get two key regulars back in the lineup. Both Filip Chytil and Chris Kreider make their returns for the Blueshirts when they host the Canadiens at 1 EST.

Without them, the team has struggled offensively. Most notably, it’s been tough to establish any kind of sustained attack without Chytil. On Nov. 14, he accidentally collided with teammate K’Andre Miller during the second period against the Sharks. Since then, he’s missed seven straight games with an upper-body injury.

Whatever was ailing him, the team didn’t say. If it were a concussion, he wouldn’t have been allowed to travel to Alberta to join the Rangers for the final two games of a four-game road trip against Calgary and Edmonton. Chytil has practiced with the team since being cleared by a concussion specialist. Now, the youngest and fastest center they have will rejoin the lineup in what amounts to an important game for team psyche.

The Rangers have been reeling. The lack of a consistent forecheck at five-on-five finally caught up to them. They’ve often fallen behind early in games, which hasn’t boded well. They’ve spent far too much time in their zone defending against more aggressive opponents. When they have been in the offensive zone, it’s been mostly one and done. Combined with a penchant for ill-advised turnovers, they’ve gotten victimized in transition. A slow defense has been getting exposed.

By getting Chytil and Kreider back on Saturday, the hope is that they can provide a boost for a roster that lacks confidence. In 15 games, Chytil has four goals and five assists with a plus-11 rating. He’s been an asset at even strength. Prior to him going down, he had excellent chemistry with Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko. With Cuylle demonstrating that he’s capable of playing a top six role, it remains to be seen if that line will be reunited. Peter Laviolette has also tried Kakko in the middle with mixed results. A strong puck possession player, Kakko is one of the better forechecking forwards the Rangers have. He also is over .500 on faceoffs, going 24-and-23.

Brett Berard has shown a lot of promise since being recalled from Hartford. After recording a goal and assist in his first two games, he was one of the Rangers’ best forwards in the Black Friday loss to the Flyers. He shouldn’t come out of the lineup. His speed and hustle are exactly what the team needs. Assuming Kreider returns to playing with Mika Zibanejad, I’d stick him on the third line. That’s unless Laviolette decides not to reunite Artemi Panarin with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere. It was Cuylle in place of Lafreniere on Trocheck’s goal yesterday. It seems that wherever he plays, the very active Cuylle makes things happen. He’s been the Rangers’ best player so far.

Laviolette must sit two forwards to make room for Kreider and Chytil. Jonny Brodzinski is a likely candidate to come out. Despite not doing anything wrong, he isn’t going to play over Berard. The only way he’d stay in would be if they sat Sam Carrick. But Carrick has been a solid fourth line center who doubles on the penalty kill.

As for the other choice, it might be Adam Edstrom. He’s played better hockey since joining Kakko on the third line. It comes down to a numbers game. If there aren’t any setbacks for Chytil or Kreider, the organization might decide to send Edstrom down to Hartford. That all depends on what happens.

We’ll see if the Blueshirts can snap out of it. Another loss on home ice could cause something to happen.