WASHINGTON — We’ve been searching for a more appropriate and perhaps more respectful nickname with which to anoint the Alexis Lafreniere-Filip Chytil-Kaapo Kakko unit that is still known as The Kids.

How about, The First Line?

All right, all right, all right, that may not quite apply on a team that struts a top-six featuring Mika Zibanejad, Patrick Kane, Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Vladimir Tarasenko and Vincent Trocheck, but let me tell you, it has not been all that much of a stretch lately.

So it was here on Sunday, when Lafreniere scored off a dazzling move, Kakko got one off a one-timer from the slot and a wheeling-and-dealing Chytil led the rush in the Rangers’ workmanlike 5-2 takeout of the Caps following a pair of flat outings in New Jersey and Buffalo.

“I am super happy to see them scoring because sometimes they get unfairly criticized when the puck does not go in for them, even if they are doing the right things,” Zibanejad told The Post after the victory boosted the team to 101 points. “I give them credit. They have been putting in the work, they have been taking the steps, they’ve been doing it together and they’re still learning.

“Not every line can score every game. It’s tough to handle it when you are creating chances but are not scoring. I’m going to be 30 in a couple of weeks and it’s not so easy for me. Now imagine how difficult it is to go through that when you’re 21 or 22 or 23.”

Coincidentally (or not): Lafreniere is 21, Kakko is 22, Chytil is 23.

Chytil’s unit was primarily matched up against the Caps’ top line that featured Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson flanking Dylan Strome. The Kids — no other forward is younger than 28, so the appellation sticks — more than held their own, owning a shot share of 84.62 percent (11 for, two against), and an xGF of 75.90 percent.

“It’s always fun to play against a top line like that, it’s a great challenge for us,” Lafreniere told The Post. “It forces us to stay responsible in the D-zone when you know they can score at any time, but what we really want to do is play with the puck as much as possible in the offensive zone. That’s the best defense.”

K’Andre Miller put home a rebound off a Trocheck between-the-legs attempt for a 1-0 lead at 13:17 of the first before Lafreniere got one off a through-the-legs, dipsy-doodle, one-on-one dance move against Rasmus Sandin that he finished with a right-wing backhand that beat Darcy Kuemper at 15:29 to go up 2-0.

“I had a pretty good angle on it and I saw that the defenseman was a little bit flatfoot, so I thought I could make a move and make a play,” said Lafreniere, who’d scored only once in his last 12 contests. “It’s a lot of fun to make a play like that when it works.”

Lafreniere had engaged Sandin earlier in the game, nailing the Swede up against the boards in the neutral zone just under 4:00 into the match. Ovechkin seemed to have words with the New York winger. Off a faceoff in the Caps’ left wing offensive circle at 7:11, Ovechkin took a galloping run at Lafreniere. He missed and fell to the ice.

“I saw,” Lafreniere said. “It’s a good thing I kept my head up.”

Bench boss Gerard Gallant has been shuffling his top-six intermittently in a search for chemistry since Kane and Tarasenko joined the band. But The Kids have been together for 30 of the last 31 games since Jan. 22. They form a collective known quantity.

“It’s not a bonus for us when they play well or score. We need them,” Zibanejad said. “That’s no different than any line or any player.”

The Rangers are anticipating the playoffs. The Youths of Broadway are no different coming off the 2021-22 tournament in which they forged an identity and created a major impact in the run to the conference finals.

“Last year we really didn’t know what to expect, but I think we know a lot more now,” Lafreniere said. “We want to be counted on for two-way play, creating offense and not giving up much at the other end.

“We want to finish the regular season off well and keep building confidence that we can take into the playoffs.”

It has not been particularly easy for Lafreniere, the 2020 first-overall pick who has faced myriad challenges in attempting to live up to expectations. Valleys have seemed deeper than peaks have been high. But the lad from Saint-Eustache always had support from his teammates.

“He has a great personality, great energy, and he’s a very funny guy,” Zibanejad said. “We like Kaapo and Fil, too, we like everyone in here, but [Lafreniere] is a little bit different in that aspect, a little more outgoing.

“He works hard. He cares. He wants to improve. We all want the best for him.”