Line combinations are never etched in stone, so it’s foolish to overreact (or to react much at all, truth be told) to the units that are formed in the opening weeks of the season, much less during training camp.

Keep this in mind: last year’s Rangers didn’t settle on stable lines until late December. Derick Brassard, for instance, played with 18 different combinations in the first 36 games before moving between Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot for pretty much the entirety of the remainder of the way.

And it was in late November that coach Alain Vigneault constructed the Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-Rick Nash combination that essentially remained intact (except for injury) through the middle of June.

The Rangers will take the ice on Friday for the first time following Thursday’s medicals and team meeting that will signify the official opening of training camp. And when the team breaks down into defined groups, say for Sunday’s scrimmage and for Monday’s preseason opener at the Garden against the Devils (already!), we’ll get our first glimpses of Vigneault’s preliminary blueprint for 2014-15.

It is believed the coach will move Marty St. Louis into what was Nash’s spot on the right with Stepan and Kreider. The preliminary plan calls for Nash to shift back to left wing to replace the departed Pouliot on the line with Brassard and Zuccarello.

But what if Ryan Malone, a more physical player than Nash and more of a net presence in the mold of Pouliot (but, for the first eight years of his career, far more dependable and a significantly more productive player) is actually the better fit? What if Malone, fighting for his NHL career after a lousy season with Tampa Bay and issues with the law, excels during camp … as he should if he has anything reasonable left?

What then for Nash, who lined up at left wing for only six regular-season games last year and for just nine during his first season as a Ranger in 2012-13? Nash did play the left side in the club’s first 10 playoff games last year while Kreider was sidelined. If memory serves, that didn’t turn out so well for No. 61.

Nash barely played with Brassard last year, sharing just 45:58 of even-strength time, according to the website hockeyanalysis.com. Two years ago they were together for 63:33. As a Ranger, Nash has recorded five even-strength points (2-3) skating with Brassard. The partnership was productive in Columbus in 2010-11, so maybe there is a base of chemistry from which to work.

Again, though, this would be Nash going back to the left after a couple of seasons during which it has been clear he is more comfortable on the right.

Again, however, if Malone — who could start on the fourth line with Dominic Moore and Tanner Glass — proves to be a physical, forechecking complement to Brassard and Zuccarello, would the Rangers consider shifting Nash to right wing on the third line with left wing Carl Hagelin and fill in the blank (J.T. Miller, Matt Lombardi, Oscar Lindberg, Kevin Hayes) in the middle?

Nash is more of a soloist than dependent upon his center to get him the puck, but his ice time would certainly be limited in that slot, and so would shifts beginning in the offense zone. Ah, the power play, you say? Well, not so fast.

Because if Malone makes the team, the winger will be on the power play. That has been his forte throughout much of his 10-year career. He goes to the front, he mucks it up. He is a prototypical Vigneault power-play net presence. Nash is not. Remember, Nash barely got on with the man advantage over the final 15 playoff matches after Kreider returned from his broken hand in Game 4 against Pittsburgh.

A few numbers to illustrate the matter, some of them “fancy”: Malone’s career shooting percentage stands at 13.8, 13th among active players with at least 500 games. It was 14.5 percent before last year. Malone isn’t beating goalies with shots from 30 feet, so one can safely infer most of his shots come from in close.

Pouliot’s average shot distance on the power play last year was 13.2 feet on 20 shots, according to the website somekindofninja.com. Kreider’s average distance on 19 power play shots was 17.9 feet. Nash, however, had an average distance of 28.7 feet on 46 power-play shots. It is not too difficult to extrapolate from that as to where these guys were stationed on the power play.

There aren’t too many questions about the Blueshirts’ make-up. There’s only a spot or two open. But if Nash isn’t on the first line, then where does the team’s leading scorer in each of his two seasons in New York fit best?

And if Nash can’t get on the power play, then what are the Rangers doing?

Just think. It’s not even early yet.