It’s bad.
Perhaps even worse than you feared.
The official word for Rangers is that Filip Chytil, the third row pivot who was at the height of the start of the season, will be out for four to six weeks with what is being called an “upper body injury,” which he suffered in a second period of collision on the open ice with Evan Rodrigues in Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
It appeared that Chtyil suffered an injury to his left hand or wrist when he was seen on the bench by medical coach Jim Ramsay after the incident that occurred at 9:11 am of the second period, in which the two players also appeared to be on their knees. Rodrigues will be out of work for an indefinite period, which is why the Penguins are calling it a “lower body injury”.
As if the 1-3-1 start had not created enough adversity in less than two weeks of the season, it certainly adds to the challenge facing Rangers.
Chytil, 21, who scored two goals and an assist in skating between Philip DiGiuseppe and Kaapo Kakko in what has 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 plug the hole by moving Brett Howden to the third row, reprising a role he played during the first half of last season, before moving on to the wing for the rest of the year. Rangers coach David Quinn said on Monday that he anticipates a series of changes to the team’s line combinations, so it is unclear who Howden will be on the wing as the Blueshirts try to dig out of a hole early in the season. .
Howden played reasonably well in the fourth row in the opening five games, averaging 13:17 ice time per, including 1:12 in power play and 1:56 for penalty. In fact, Howden’s skill at the confrontation points elevated him above Chytil for the male lead assignment, the number 72 getting an average of just 0:37 per, but the coach said this was just a temporary situation.
This hurts Rangers exactly where they can probably pay for it. The entire organization lacks organizational depth. Fourth row guys Kevin Rooney and Colin Blackwell provide protection for Howden at the NHL level, while Morgan Barron and Justin Richards are skating on Hartford’s AHL training ground that officially started on Monday.
At the moment, it does not appear that the Rangers will promote Barron, 22, to the taxi squad, although the Wolf Pack season does not begin until February 7. The team has two preseason games coming up Sunday and Monday, so maybe the situation will change after that.
Richards, 22, who the Blueshirts signed during the off-season as an uninvited free agent outside Minnesota-Duluth, lost the entire NHL camp because of problems related to COVID-19. He is, however, working now and can also apply to the taxi squad, where there are two vacancies.
If this injury comes at an inopportune moment for the Rangers, then probably doubly for Chytil, who was beginning to combine his physical and skill attributes in an imposing package. The 21st overall selection of the 2017 draft, 21 years old, recorded three points (2-1) with a Corsi rating of 63.81 in the lead of the team (among players with at least 20 minutes of ice time of five against five) and an expected rate of club leaders’ goals of 67.96.
In addition, the Chytil-Kakko partnership was flourishing with each of the young gunners gaining confidence in themselves as individuals while generating chemistry like a tandem. This puts obvious control over that.
In addition, Rangers for the next four to six weeks will lose the option of taking Chytil into the top six with Artemi Panarin. Management is in a need to know about its long-term plan for this location, with Ryan Strome probably not being the long-term answer. If Chtyil were able to handle the assignment, that would eliminate the need for the team to switch to a pivot from the top six that would likely have a high price.
That opportunity was gone for a period that could span up to 20 games, or more than a third of the 56 game season.
Hard break for the Rangers.
An equally difficult break for Chytil.