Rangers' Alex Wennberg misses practice, Filip Chytil takes his place on third line

GREENBURGH – It is the playoffs, of course, and Rangers coach Peter Laviolette made it clear last week that he wouldn’t be talking about players’ injuries or their status for upcoming games.

But when third-line center Alex Wennberg did not practice Thursday because of what the team officially called “maintenance,’’ the question had to be posed as to whether Wennberg’s absence might impact his availability for Game 3 of the Rangers’ first-round series against the Washington Capitals Friday.

“I'll probably just leave it at ‘maintenance’ for today,’’ Laviolette said.

All right then.

In Wennberg’s absence, Filip Chytil took his place between wingers Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko. Whether that means Chytil would be the replacement for Wennberg if the Swede can’t go in Game 3, or he was merely filling Wennberg’s spot for practice, is left open to speculation. Laviolette was willing to say that Chytil was going to travel with the team to Washington for Games 3 and 4.

Chytil has been practicing with the team for the last two weeks, but he has not played since Nov. 2 when he suffered what was officially designated as an upper-body injury – it was almost certainly a concussion – in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 24-year-old Czech was initially put on regular injured reserve – a minimum seven-day absence – after his injury, but he was shifted to long term injured reserve. After about two months, he went home to Czechia for a change of scenery and to work with his doctors at home. He returned to New York in mid-January and appeared on the verge of a comeback before he had a setback, and the team declared him out for the rest of the season on Jan. 28.

But after being cleared by doctors to come back, he made a surprise return to practice with the team April 12. He’s been practicing full contact since, though he remains on LTIR. Earlier this week, Laviolette was unwilling to speculate on whether Chytil might be available for the playoffs, but on Thursday, when asked how far along Chytil is in terms of a possible return, the coach said he is making progress.

“He's working on it right now,’’ Laviolette said, choosing his words carefully. “When you guys watch him out there… he's not under restriction. He's not being held back from anything. And so, we're working on that, working towards it.’’

Kakko, who has played most of his career on Chytil’s wing – the two, along with Alexis Lafreniere, made up the dynamic Kid Line in the playoffs two years ago – was asked how much he enjoyed skating with Chytil Thursday.

“It's good to see him on the ice, you know,’’ he said. “It's been a while, so it’s a good thing.’’

Asked how he thought Chytil looked, Kakko was positive.

“I think he looks good,’’ he said.

Wennberg, who was acquired from the Seattle Kraken just before the March 8 trade deadline, didn’t appear to suffer any kind of injury in Game 2 Tuesday. He took his regular shifts with Cuylle and Kakko in the 4-3 victory, along with his usual penalty-killing and power play duties. And he was on the ice for the final two minutes and 14 seconds as the Rangers tried to hold on after the Capitals had pulled their goalie for the extra attacker.

But the fact that he needed to miss practice Thursday after the Rangers were off on Wednesday suggests that something is off, and perhaps he is being bothered by some type of issue. The team flew to Washington after practice.

Should Wennberg not be available for Game 3, Chytil wouldn’t be the only option for Laviolette to replace him in the lineup. Jonny Brodzinski had been the center on the third line before Wennberg arrived and would certainly be a consideration. Brodzinski has not played yet in the playoffs as Laviolette has chosen to go with rookie Matt Rempe as his 12th forward for the first two games.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.