This is bad.
Maybe even worse than you feared.
“The official word from the Rangers is that Filip Chytil, the third line center who was on the verge of an early season outbreak, will be sidelined with a torso injury for four to six weeks,” he said. Sunday night in a second period with a collision with Evan Rodrigues in Pittsburgh.
Chtyil appeared to have suffered a left hand or wrist injury, as put on the bench by medical coach Jim Ramsay following the incident which took place at 9:11 in the second period in which the two players also looked has. -knee. Rodrigues will be sidelined for an indefinite period of time with what the Penguins call a ‘lower abdomen injury’.
As if the 1-3-1 start not less than two weeks into the season yields enough adversity, it certainly contributes to the challenge facing the Rangers.
The 21-year-old Chytil, who scored two goals and became one skating assist between Philip DiGiuseppe and Kaapo Kakko over a stable and reliable third line, will miss his first game on Tuesday in Buffalo against the Sabers.
The Blueshirts will initially try to stop the hole by moving Brett Howden up to the third line, and repeating a role he played during the first half of last season before moving to the wing for the rest of the year. has. Rangers coach David Quinn said on Monday that he envisages a number of changes to the team’s line combinations, so it’s unclear who Howden will have on the wing as the Blueshirts try to get out of an early season. to dig a hole.
Howden played pretty well on the fourth line through the first five games, averaging 13:17 ice time each time, including 1:12 on the power play and 1:56 per penalty goal. Indeed, Howden’s ability to rise above the points of view elevated him above Chytil for the mandate with the male advantage, with no. 72 an average of just 0:37 per, but the coach said it would only be a temporary situation.
It hurts the Rangers where they can probably afford it the least. Organizational depth is lacking throughout the organization. The fourth line, Kevin Rooney and Colin Blackwell, offer Howden at NHL level, while Morgan Barron and Justin Richards skate at Hartford’s AHL training camp, which officially began Monday.
At the moment, it does not appear that the Rangers will promote the 22-year-old Barron to the taxi team, although the Wolf Pack season only starts on February 7th. The team has a few preseason games coming up next season. Sunday and Monday, so maybe the situation will change after that.
The 22-year-old Richards, who signed the Blueshirts during the off-season as an unsolicited free agent from Minnesota-Duluth, 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 group, where there are two openings.
If this injury occurs at an inconvenient time for the Rangers, it is likely to be doubly so for Chytil, who has begun to combine his physical and skill characteristics into an imposing package. The 21-year-old, 21st overall pick of the draft in 2017, scored three points (2-1) with a leading 63.81 Corsi rating (among players with at least 20 minutes of five-to-five ice time) and a club leading expected goal rate of 67.96.
In addition, the Chytil-Kakko partnership flourished in that each of the young guns gained confidence in themselves as individuals, while causing chemistry as a tandem. It places an obvious hold on it.
In addition, the Rangers will lose the option for the next four to six weeks to move Chytil up to a top-six spot on the line with Artemi Panarin. Management is in need of knowing his long-term plan, and Ryan Strome is probably not the answer in the long run. If Chtyil is able to handle the assignment, it will necessitate the team to trade a top-six pivot point that is likely to cost dearly.
The event is over for as many as 20 games, or more than one-third of the 56-game season.
Tough break for the Rangers.
Just as difficult interruption for Chytil.