There was something vintage about this, about the way Chris Kreider faded toward the high slot after the Rangers won a faceoff midway through the third period Thursday and snapped a shot toward the top corner,

Artemi Panarin scored two goals, Chris Kreider had the go-ahead goal off a defensive deflection with 9:38 to play, and the New York Rangers rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Utah Hockey Club.

As New York’s season continues on an upward trend, now 5-1-2 in the New Year, having a healthy Kreider in the lineup provides yet another boost with the Rangers (21-20-3) trying to climb back into the playoff race after a dismal two-month stretch of hockey put them on the outside looking in.

The boxing-out issues continued against Utah. A minute into the game, Utah’s Ian Cole fired a point shot tipped by teammate Barrett Hayton. Igor Shesterkin made the initial stop, but Matias Maccelli got away from K’Andre Miller and buried the rebound.

Artemi Panarin had two goals, including an empty-netter, as the Rangers (4-0-2) extended their point streak to six games.