The young center will miss an extended period of time after suffering an upper-body injury on Sunday.
The New York Rangers have been dealt a tough blow.
Center Filip Chytil is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after suffering an upper-body injury when he collided with Pittsburgh Penguins center Evan Rodrigues halfway through the second period of New York’s 3-2 loss on Sunday.
Filip Chytil will be out 4 to 6 weeks due to an upper body injury suffered on Sunday at Pittsburgh.
— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 26, 2021
The hit looked to be serious immediately after it happened. Chytil took some time to get up and after being looked at on the bench was taken back to the locker room, after which he would not return.
On Monday, he traveled back to New York to see doctors, which ruled him out for the Rangers’ upcoming two games at the Buffalo Sabres.
Filip Chytil has returned to New York for evaluation by team doctors and will be unavailable tomorrow vs. BUF.
— x – New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 25, 2021
This is one of the worst things that could’ve happened to the Rangers, especially at this point in time.
Chytil had been one of their best forwards to begin the season and was a crucial part of their third line that has been their best line and one of the best in hockey. He has three points (two goals, one assist) in five games and appeared to be kicking off his breakout season. This injury is terrible both for him and the organization.
The Rangers have a problem in terms of depth at the center position, but they also haven’t gotten much production from their top-six forwards to begin the season.
Pavel Buchnevich and Artemi Panarin have been the only two bright spots of that group, with everyone else struggling to put up points.
"Everybody's just going to have to step up and fill the absence we're going to have."
Brett Howden on how #NYR needs to respond to losing Chytil: pic.twitter.com/ZLRfesippq
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 26, 2021
Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, particularly Kreider, have been uncharacteristically bad. Rookie Alexis Lafrenière has actually done a lot of good, but his great playmaking and passing have gone to waste since his teammates have been unable to finish.
Ryan Strome is proving what we all already knew: that last year was a fluke and he isn’t a top-six center.
The Rangers’ centers are now Zibanejad, Strome, Brett Howden, and Kevin Rooney.
Unless the Rangers decide to throw prospect Morgan Barron, who head coach David Quinn noted looked nervous in his first training camp with the Rangers, into the mix, this is the group of guys they’ll be working with.
Colin Blackwell, who made his Rangers debut on Sunday and scored the game’s first goal, is capable of playing center, so Quinn might opt to use him there, as well.
Considering the fact that New York’s top-six have struggled, this is a weak group. Expect the lines to look significantly different ahead of New York’s game against Buffalo on Tuesday.
Chytil’s absence will be glaring, and the Rangers’ organization and fanbase will be counting the days until the 21-year-old makes his return.