Thursday night's eventual 3-2 victory between the Rangers and the Sharks at Madison Square Garden faded into the background the moment Filip Sztil was ejected for colliding with K'Andre Miller in the second period. .
After being forced into the locker room after Miller's shoulder appeared to make contact with his head, Chytil briefly returned to the Rangers' bench, but only for one substitution.
He then missed the third period with what the Rangers described as an upper-body injury.
“Every day,” head coach Peter Laviolette said, as always. “He is currently being evaluated.”
The Czech center's injury comes a day after Laviolette acknowledged that the bottom six and third-ranked defenseman have been getting more ice time lately.
That's because Chytil's line, featuring Ka'apo Kakko and Will Quill, has been one of the Blueshirts' most consistent and prolific units so far this season, outscoring opponents 11-0 in 5-on-5 play. That's because it's better than that.
Sitil had missed each of the past six seasons due to injury, but he intended to play in all 82 regular-season games this season — especially the majority of the 2023-24 season, which would be his fourth game on the record. (Especially after missing a day with a concussion).
The concern was always about the individual, not the player.
“Phil has been a big part of our team this year,” said Jimmy Vesey, who scored his second goal of the season in the second period to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. “He's a big part of what we're trying to do. He and that sequence have been huge for us. We all hope he gets back soon. I’m here.”
The Rangers' performance in the past four games forced Laviolette to return to a line of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière, a top-four defensive composition he had used three times before Thursday night. I went back and Miller was next to me. Starring Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, and Jacob Trouba.
He returned to Kuil Sitil Kakko after just two games last week.
It all paid off for the Rangers, who took a 3-1 lead toward the end of the middle frame on a sweet Trocheck deflection off a Panarin feed.
Faced with the possibility of losing Chytil, Rangers will find themselves in a difficult situation. Not only is this organization incredibly thin at center, but Sitil is one of the most consistent forwards on the team and has led one of the strongest lines of late.
The Rangers are scheduled to take Friday off and return to practice Saturday ahead of their flight to Seattle.
We should know more about Sitil's status for the upcoming four-game road trip by then.
The Sharks, who were playing much better than their 0-7-2 start to the season, scored the first goal of the game, giving the Blueshirts their second loss this season.
But that wasn't the case this time, as the home team rallied with a much-needed goal from Mika Zibanejad.
“It's always good to help the team and score,” said Zibanejad, who last saw the puck go into the net on Oct. 22. “It was good to get the two points.”
San Jose had a 5-2-1 record in their past eight games, but the Sharks were still in the NHL entering their first game at the Garden after acquiring Barclay Goodrow on waivers in a pre-arranged deal with the Rangers. They were the 5th worst team. summer.
The Rangers needed a decisive win against a team they were expected to beat, and they got it.
The Sharks took the lead with a shaky goal just under three minutes into the game, when Timothy Liljegren's shot weaved through traffic and bounced over goalie Igor Shesterkin.
But Rangers improved as the game went on, and as they continued to lose touch, it was no surprise that they fell behind at the first break. The lack of consistency in the lineup has become apparent in recent weeks.
There is a real possibility that if Chytil is unavailable, it could exacerbate Rangers' dysfunction.
The win was needed, but the Rangers could have lost something bigger.
