Whether Filip Chytil travels with the Rangers on their upcoming four-game road trip out west should give a fairly good indication of the severity of the Czech center’s injury.
That, and whether the 25-year-old is even on the ice when the Blueshirts return to practice Saturday at MSG Training Center ahead of their flight to Seattle.
Given Chytil’s extensive injury history, the Rangers are more likely to play it protected no matter the small print.
There’s at all times a possibility Chytil might be on the ice and on the team plane Saturday, like Thursday night’s collision with K’Andre Miller along the left half boards never happened.
The way in which his last 12 months or so has gone, nevertheless, has left everyone understandably wary.
Last season, the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy despite losing Chytil 10 games into the season after he was bumped by Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast and suffered what’s believed to be the fourth concussion of his eight-year NHL profession.
It was a grueling road to recovery, one which included a setback in January, a reset trip home to Czechia and an unstable run within the playoffs.
So when Chytil took only one 61-second shift following the collision Thursday night, before it became apparent he couldn’t finish the sport and needed to retreat back to the locker room, flashbacks to his struggles to remain on the ice last season got here flooding back.
It’s difficult to not brace yourself for the worst when that’s been the same old consequence regarding this specific player.
If Chytil isn’t available for this four-game swing in Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton — or for the foreseeable future — Jonny Brodzinski will likely step in, as he did when Chytil went down last November.
The Rangers will presumably need to recall someone from the Hartford Wolf Pack to make sure they’ve an additional forward on the trip.
Word out of Hartford on Thursday night was that Brennan Othmann, who was projected to miss 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury at the top of October, is now expected to be out likely until late December.
Despite playing in three of the Rangers’ first seven games, Matt Rempe hasn’t necessarily done anything with the Wolf Pack to warrant a call up.
So the club could go in a number of different directions for his or her extra forward.
Brett Berard’s six goals entering the Wolf Pack’s game against the Charlotte Checkers lead the team.
It might be a probability for Berard to get some experience on the road with an NHL team, while also rewarding him for a robust training camp and begin to the regular season.
If the Rangers desired to stick to veterans they’re comfortable with, Alex Belzile or Anton Blidh can be the highest options.
Or, in the event that they desired to go along with a middle, Jake Leschyshyn and his 14 games of experience with the Rangers can be considered, in addition to Bo Groulx, who has centered the Wolf Pack’s top line and leads the club with 10 points.
The Rangers’ hope, nevertheless, is that that is all just hypothetical talk.
Losing Chytil, who has played with more energy and fervour than anyone, might be a detriment to the team’s current state.
Though the Rangers should take solace within the incontrovertible fact that they figured it out without him once, they need to give you the option to do it again — if need be.
Whether Filip Chytil travels with the Rangers on their upcoming four-game road trip out west should give a fairly good indication of the severity of the Czech center’s injury.
That, and whether the 25-year-old is even on the ice when the Blueshirts return to practice Saturday at MSG Training Center ahead of their flight to Seattle.
Given Chytil’s extensive injury history, the Rangers are more likely to play it protected no matter the small print.
There’s at all times a possibility Chytil might be on the ice and on the team plane Saturday, like Thursday night’s collision with K’Andre Miller along the left half boards never happened.
The way in which his last 12 months or so has gone, nevertheless, has left everyone understandably wary.
Last season, the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy despite losing Chytil 10 games into the season after he was bumped by Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast and suffered what’s believed to be the fourth concussion of his eight-year NHL profession.
It was a grueling road to recovery, one which included a setback in January, a reset trip home to Czechia and an unstable run within the playoffs.
So when Chytil took only one 61-second shift following the collision Thursday night, before it became apparent he couldn’t finish the sport and needed to retreat back to the locker room, flashbacks to his struggles to remain on the ice last season got here flooding back.
It’s difficult to not brace yourself for the worst when that’s been the same old consequence regarding this specific player.
If Chytil isn’t available for this four-game swing in Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton — or for the foreseeable future — Jonny Brodzinski will likely step in, as he did when Chytil went down last November.
The Rangers will presumably need to recall someone from the Hartford Wolf Pack to make sure they’ve an additional forward on the trip.
Word out of Hartford on Thursday night was that Brennan Othmann, who was projected to miss 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury at the top of October, is now expected to be out likely until late December.
Despite playing in three of the Rangers’ first seven games, Matt Rempe hasn’t necessarily done anything with the Wolf Pack to warrant a call up.
So the club could go in a number of different directions for his or her extra forward.
Brett Berard’s six goals entering the Wolf Pack’s game against the Charlotte Checkers lead the team.
It might be a probability for Berard to get some experience on the road with an NHL team, while also rewarding him for a robust training camp and begin to the regular season.
If the Rangers desired to stick to veterans they’re comfortable with, Alex Belzile or Anton Blidh can be the highest options.
Or, in the event that they desired to go along with a middle, Jake Leschyshyn and his 14 games of experience with the Rangers can be considered, in addition to Bo Groulx, who has centered the Wolf Pack’s top line and leads the club with 10 points.
The Rangers’ hope, nevertheless, is that that is all just hypothetical talk.
Losing Chytil, who has played with more energy and fervour than anyone, might be a detriment to the team’s current state.
Though the Rangers should take solace within the incontrovertible fact that they figured it out without him once, they need to give you the option to do it again — if need be.
