The revolving door at right wing on the Rangers’ top line continued to spin Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, with Filip Chytil returning to the lineup and assuming the position again — at least as a starter — in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Panthers.
Chytil, a Czech forward, skated with them in Games 2 and 3, but was deployed next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanded in Game 4 after the Rangers took him out of the lineup in the name of load management.
But that hasn’t stayed the case after the 3-2 loss, and coach Peter Laviolette has continued to use a variety of skaters to make his top line duo work better at 5-on-5.
Coach Laviolette inserted Will Caillou, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin into that unit during the game in an apparent attempt to energize the lineup.
“I thought we still had a lot of consistency in the lineup,” Laviolette said before the loss. “I thought we had consistency in the playoffs.” [Blake] Wheeler’s back, he’s an option now. Phil’s back, he’s an option now. That’s going to change something. But the core of the lineup, the overall concept of the line and the overall makeup of the team is still pretty stable. I think we’ve handled it well.”
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Chytil’s return comes as Blake Wheeler makes his spectacular return from a leg injury he suffered in Game 4 on Feb. 15 and was suspended for medical reasons.
Quill, Barclay Goodrow and Matt Rempe were added to the fourth line, while Jack Roslovic returned to the third line alongside Kako and Alex Wennberg, while the second line of Vincent Trocheck, Panarin and Lafreniere remained intact.
Laviolette also decided to go back to the same defense that the Rangers used to start the playoffs.
Kendre Miller returns along with Braden Schneider, and Jacob Trouba is back on the left side behind Erik Gustafsson.
“We were under a lot of pressure at Florida,” Laviolette said of the defensive pairing change. “For me, it was just a matter of switching. This pair has played together in the past. I thought they played well tonight. I thought they did a good job against the line. So I think the switch was a real positive. We didn’t spend as much time on defense and we didn’t give up as many opportunities at the net.”
The Rangers are scheduled to travel to Sunrise, Florida, on Friday.
