The first line has been sort of a never-ending puzzle for the past few Rangers coaches.

With so many players who have skillsets worthy of top minutes, the tantalizing options often lead to combination experiments.

Perhaps that’s why the trigger has been so easy to pull and then reload new alignments in years past, with the one constant being No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad.

It’s also a testament to the fact that no trio has stood out enough to permanently seize the role.

The Rangers deployed 11 different first-line units last season, and a combo that received one of the shortest opportunities will take the ice Wednesday night in the club’s second-to-last exhibition game against the Devils at the Prudential Center.

Kaapo Kakko will be on the right wing of Artemi Panarin and Zibanejad as part of a unit that head coach Peter Laviolette is no doubt considering for his opening-night lineup on Oct. 12 in Buffalo.

The three players competed on a line together in one game last season, a 4-3 loss to the Islanders on Nov. 8.

They finished minus-two on the night and both wings were replaced the following contest.

The argument against putting Panarin and Zibanejad on the same unit has been the same since former head coach David Quinn was first given the opportunity to unite them.

With such a front-loaded lineup already, those two on one line is not conducive to a balanced formation.

It is, however, an enticing option that poses a massive offensive upside.

Kakko has spent the most time alongside Zibanejad of the Rangers’ right wingers due to his extra season in the NHL over Alexis Lafreniere.

Lafreniere, the former No. 1 pick, has flanked Zibanejad on both sides since he joined the team in 2020.

“Based on watching him in the past and then working with him now and watching him in practice and games, he’s a guy I feel that can really possess the puck and make things happen,” Laviolette said of Kakko. “He has a big frame and a high skill level. He uses his body well to protect it in the offensive zone and to make things happen. I do think he’s a good two-way player. I think he’s smart. That, for me, is a lot of options to think of it from both directions. On the defensive side of things and the offensive side of things.

“I’ve liked his game. I feel like he can have a real impact on the game offensively because of his body and his size and the way he controls the game.”

In 2019, Panarin played his first seven games as a Ranger next to Zibanejad.

He only saw two more games alongside the Swedish center for the rest of the season, but Kakko was on the other side for those.

The trio didn’t skate together again until the one contest last season.

Laviolette is still evaluating and there’s a good chance the Rangers will roll out another top-line combination in their preseason finale on Thursday against the Bruins at Madison Square Garden.

Offseason signing Blake Wheeler got a look on the right wing of Panarin and Zibanejad during the second day of training camp, but those three haven’t been put together since.

At the start of camp, Zibanejad joked about how no matter how many different players he skates next to during training camp he always ends up right next to Chris Kreider once the season begins.

The two have been an easy top-line duo to turn to due to their history. So far, only Lafreniere has gotten a shot with those two while skating on his off-side on the right wing in the Rangers’ first preseason matchup with the Devils last week.

It wasn’t the most encouraging performance, but Zibanejad was also coming off a minor upper-body injury.

Even though Kakko hasn’t spent any time next to Kreider and Zibanejad this preseason, that’s a combination that was probably already on Laviolette’s radar coming into camp.

Kakko skated with Kreider and Zibanejad the first 13 games of last season before Panarin replaced Kreider in the 14th. They were reunited later in the season, as well, but Kakko was eventually trumped by trade-deadline pickups Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane.

In the past three seasons, Kreider, Zibanejad and Kakko have outscored opponents 19-14 in 497:43 of five-on-five ice time, according to Natural Stat Trick.

That trio probably has the most familiarity with one another, so it should definitely be another option for Laviolette to consider.