Rangers' Filip Chytil does not have a concussion and will rejoin the team in Calgary
Filip Chytil and K'Andre Miller of the Rangers collide during the second period against the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 14. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
VANCOUVER – The only goal Rangers center Filip Chytil had for himself this season was to play in all 82 games.
He won’t get there, having missed Sunday’s win over Seattle and Tuesday’s game against the Canucks with an upper-body injury suffered in a collision with teammate K’Andre Miller last week, but the 25-year-old could be returning to the lineup before the current road trip is over.
At his team’s lightly attended optional morning skate before Tuesday night's game against the Canucks, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette confirmed that Chytil, who stayed behind in New York when the team left Saturday for the four-game trip to the Pacific Northwest and Alberta, will rejoin the team in Calgary. The Rangers play the Flames on Thursday in the penultimate game of the trip.
“He's joining us,’’ said Laviolette, who was guarded with the details. “That's always a good thing.’’
Chytil, who missed the final 72 games of the regular season and the first six playoff games last spring with what was presumed to be a concussion, was injured after he ran into Miller late in the second period of last Thursday’s 3-2 win over San Jose at the Garden. He fell to the ice after the collision and remained down for a few moments, before getting up and heading first to the bench, and then to the locker room, to be evaluated.
He returned to play one more shift late in the period, but did not play in the third and did not travel with the team Saturday when it flew to Seattle to start the trip.
Given Chytil’s history of suspected concussions – he has missed several games over the past few seasons with upper-body injuries resulting from on-ice collisions – it was feared that he may have suffered another. But a source said Chytil saw a specialist in New York who determined that the injury was not a concussion. That cleared the way for him to rejoin the team.
“It's great,’’ Rangers center Sam Carrick said of Chytil’s return. “(He’s a) huge part of the team, having a great year. So yeah, anytime you get him back, it's huge.’’
Chytil has been off to a good start with four goals and five assists in 15 games. He centers the Rangers’ most effective forward line, between wingers Will Cuylle (five goals, seven assists) and Kaapo Kakko (2-7-9). With that trio on the ice, the Rangers have outscored opponents 11-0 this season, and have produced more shots on goal, more scoring chances, and more high-danger chances than their opponents.
“He had a really good start to the season,’’ Laviolette said of Chytil. “So when you take a player out like that… the balance becomes different. It’s a great opportunity for Jonny (Brodzinski) to jump in there. He's been working hard and waiting for an opportunity to jump back in the lineup. He's been in that position before, and so… any time that something like this happens to a team, there's some sort of an injury where a player comes out of the lineup, somebody else has to step up.’’
The Rangers were outshot and out-attempted with the Cuylle-Brodzinski-Kakko trio on the ice, and surrendered more scoring chances and high-danger chances than they produced. But somehow, they still managed to outscore the Kraken 1-0 in the 2-0 victory, thanks to defenseman Zac Jones’ goal. Brodzinski remained in between Cuylle and Kakko Tuesday against Vancouver.
Laviolette would not say whether Chytil might return to the lineup Thursday in Calgary, nor would he even commit to having Chytil practice with the team on Wednesday.
“Well, he's coming back to join us, and then we'll make those decisions,’’ Laviolette said.
Presumably, though, the Rangers wouldn’t be flying Chytil all the way out to Calgary and Edmonton (where the trip concludes Saturday night) if they didn’t think he might be able to play in at least one of the two games.
“I think our doctors do a really good job of protecting the players, and making sure that when they come back, that they're healthy,’’ Laviolette said. “So… when that happens, that's when Fil will be available.’’
Blue notes
Igor Shesterkin got the start in goal, the only change from Sunday’s lineup. D Chad Ruhwedel and F Jake Leschyshyn were the healthy scratches.
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.
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