It’s bad.
Maybe even worse than you feared.
The official word from the Rangers is that Filip Chytil, the third-line center who was at the peak of a season start, will be out for four to six weeks with what is called “an injury to the top of the body, ”He suffered in a second period of open ice collision with Evan Rodrigues in Pittsburgh Sunday night.
It looked as if Chtyil suffered an injury to his left hand or wrist as medical coach Jim Ramsay treated him on the bench after the 9:11 incident in the second period in which both players also appeared to be on their knees. -genoll. Rodrigues will be away from home for an indefinite period of time with what the penguins call a “lower body injury.”
As if the start of the 1-3-1 did not create enough adversity less than two weeks into the season, this surely adds to the challenge the Rangers face.
Chytil, 21, who had scored two goals and a skating assist between Philip DiGiuseppe and Kaapo Kakko in what had become a stable and reliable third line, will miss his first game on Tuesday in Buffalo against the Sabers.
The Blueshirts will initially try to cover the hole by moving Brett Howden to the third line, resuming a role he played during the first half of last season before moving to the wing the rest of the year. Rangers coach David Quinn said Monday that he anticipated a number of changes to the team’s line combinations, so it’s unclear who will have Howden on the wing as the Blueshirts try to dig a hole of their own. of the first season.
Howden had played reasonably well on the fourth line during the first five games as he averaged 13:17 of ice time for, including 1:12 on the power play and 1:56 on the penalty spot. In fact, Howden’s ability at the points of confrontation had elevated him above Chytil for the assignment with the man advantage, the number 72 got an average of only 0:37 for, but l ‘coach had said this would only be a temporary situation.
This hurts the Rangers where they can probably afford it. Lack of organizational depth at the center of the entire organization. Fourth-line types Kevin Rooney and Colin Blackwell offer Howden setbacks at the NHL level, while Morgan Barron and Justin Richards skate at Hartford’s AHL training camp that officially began Monday.
For now, it doesn’t look like the Rangers will ascend 22-year-old Barron to the taxi roster, though the Wolf Pack season doesn’t begin until Feb. 7. The team has a couple of preseason games this coming Sunday and Monday, so maybe the situation will change after that.
Richards, 22, whom the Blueshirts signed during the off-season as an unwritten Minnesota-Duluth free agent, missed the entire NHL camp due to COVID-19-related issues. However, he is working now and could also become a candidate for the taxi staff, where there are two openings.
If this injury comes at an inopportune time for the Rangers, probably doubly so for Chytil, he was beginning to combine his physical and skill attributes into an imposing package. The 21-year-old general selection from the 2017 21-year-old draft had recorded three points (2-1) with a score of 63.81 Corsi as the team leader (among players with a minimum of 20 minutes out of five in five) and a percentage of goals set to lead the club of 67.96.
In addition, the Chytil-Kakko association was flourishing with each of the young guns gaining confidence in themselves as individuals while generating chemistry as a tandem. This puts an obvious position on this.
And in addition, the Rangers for the next four to six weeks will lose the option of placing Chytil in a place among the top six on the line with Artemi Panarin. Management finds itself in a situation of need to know as to its long-term plan on this point, with Ryan Strome likely not being the long-term answer. If Chtyil is able to handle the task, this would eliminate the need for the team to switch to one of the first six pivots that would likely be priced high.
This opportunity has disappeared for a stretch that could span up to 20 games, or more than a third of the 56-game season.
Tough breaks for the Rangers.
Like hard pause for Chytil.