SUNRISE, Fla. — The Rangers’ loss to the Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals wasn’t the result of inconsequential personnel decisions, but it certainly played a factor in their playoff berth.
When head coach Peter Laviolette opted to insert Filip Chytil into the lineup for Game 3 of the Blueshirts’ second-round series against the Hurricanes, the Rangers head coach justified the move, which came when the team was 6-0 in the postseason, as a way to get the most out of his bench.
The win shocked the Rangers, giving them a double-overtime victory and their seventh playoff win, but ultimately it was another task for Laviolette to manage.
Chytil had made a spectacular return after more than six months out with a suspected concussion, but something happened inside that affected other players, leading to a breakdown in his health and him not being able to return to the ice for Game 4 against Carolina two days later.
He was then in too much pain to play in Game 5.
He was replaced by Johnny Brodzinski, who returned to the lineup for Saturday night’s Game 6 against the Panthers.
Next up was Matt Rempe.
Then there’s Brodzinski again.
Chytil played every game in Games 1, 2 and 3 of the conference finals, but Kaapo Kakko sat out Game 2 for medical reasons and Jimmy Vesey missed Game 1 with an upper-body injury suffered at Florida.
The injury paves the way for Blake Wheeler to return to the lineup for the first time since suffering a gruesome lower-body injury on Feb. 15, but the absence of fourth-lineman Basie is another hurdle to overcome.
Vesey, who participated in Saturday’s morning skate wearing a red non-contact jersey, was a mainstay on the fourth line all season and into the playoffs.
He became part of that team’s identity, providing scoring power and being a reliable skater.
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But in the second game at Florida, the Rangers took Chytil out of the lineup in the name of load management.
It quickly became clear that Rangers valued Chytil less than other players, and that’s understandable, but there’s still a balance to be struck when trying to put players in positions to succeed.
Coming into Game 6 on Saturday night, the team was down 3-2 and with the fate of the season hanging in the balance, Laviolette was expected to field a different lineup for 10 straight games, dating back to Game 3 of the second round.
And for a team that has had continuity in both its line combinations and defensive pairings for much of the season, that was a factor to consider.
Chytil’s inconsistency in how he used and deployed the Czech forward, and his comfort with how he used and positioned Rempe, took Laviolette from making very few decisions to making too many when team play should have been the priority.
The Rangers never went 16-0 on their way to winning the Stanley Cup, but the postseason got a lot tougher the moment the changes were made.
In theory, getting Chytil and Wheeler involved was important to the Rangers’ longevity, but it also impacted the team’s current standing.
