Filip Chytil will be unavailable for at least the next 4 games

More injury news is coming out of New York today as the organization confirms Czech forward Filip Chytil will be out for at least a week with an upper-body injury. Chytil was forced to leave the game against Columbus after a collision with Cole Sillinger. He didn’t return and it means there are yet more injury concerns for the Rangers who were just welcoming their forward core back to full strength.

Chytil is scheduled to miss the games against the Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders, Dallas Stars, and Arizona Coyotes. He could be in contention for the Rangers’ first game back after a three-game road trip against the Philadelphia Flyers. With the Rangers’ young forward missing time, there’s going to be a halt on one of the promising young forwards who was having a great season to this point.

New York’s third-line center had gotten off to a strong start this season with two goals and an assist through six games. He’d been a big part of New York’s ability to dominate games because he provides an extra threat on the third line. His step forward, albeit in a limited sample size had been quite effective. It forced opponents into restructuring the way they played because the Rangers’ third line had a genuine scoring threat that could change the game.

With the Rangers missing their third-line center, there was some shuffling of lines today at practice. Eventually, the coaching staff decided Barclay Goodrow replacing the Czech center on the third line. With the former Tampa forward on the third line, there’s not the same scoring threat. It’s a lot more physical due to the difference in playing style, but that’s not the same as having a third line that can score and come up big at times.

Obviously, you hope that this is nothing serious and that Chytil can make a full, speedy recovery. This is still a major loss for the Rangers. This is a very big test of the depth early in the season. There’s nothing here that should set off warning flags in the fanbase, but this is a good stretch for management to get an idea of what they should be looking for at the deadline. Depth is big in the playoffs, and this is a great litmus test.