KEEP UP THE PACE
Ranger rookies still adjusting to speed of professional game
When the Rangers talk about “pace” concerning their young players, end-to-end skating ability is hardly the whole of it. In the case of 18-year-old Filip Chytil, he already has significantly impressed in that area.
Instead, the real “pace” Chytil needs to adjust to is that at which decisions are made. In a scoreless game late in the first period Saturday, the Hurricanes were in one of their many chaotic scrambles in front of Henrik Lundqvist, and the puck popped out to Chytil near the right post. He turned to see oncoming checkers and quickly coughed it up along the wall.
It didn’t result in a goal, but if this were a different situation — as in, the Rangers’ games actually meant something rather than just a slog to the end of their first playoff miss in seven years — it would have been a glaring gaffe.
“You know, in some of those decisions, you have to give [the Hurricanes] credit — their pressure came hard and came quickly,” coach Alain Vigneault said after the 2-1 victory, with his team having Easter Sunday off before starting their final three-game stretch against the Devils in Newark on Tuesday. “So I would say it’s just a matter of a young player, a rookie player, getting used to the pace. He’ll get used to it. You can tell with his speed out there that it shouldn’t be an issue.”
The actual foot speed of the 21stoverall selection in this most recent draft again was on display and far more memorable than that one misplay. Chytil had two separate breakaways, but both times was denied by goalie Cam Ward.
Maybe more impressive has been his competitiveness, unafraid to go right to the front of the net, where so many goals are scored — especially at this time of year with teams fighting for their postseason lives and players fighting for next year’s jobs. He did just that Friday night at the Garden, where he scored his first NHL goal in a 7-3 loss to the Lightning.
Compared to Chytil’s first two games with the Rangers at the start of the year, Vigneault said “he’s more confident right now. He’s skating with the puck. You could really sense that he’s a powerful, strong, north-south skater. He wasn’t afraid [Friday] on three occasions to take that puck to the net even though there was traffic. That’s where you score goals.”
Chytil was called up March 25 and came with his fellow firstrounder, 19-year-old Lias Andersson (No. 7 overall), who scored his first goal in his NHL debut Monday. Watching how they perform has been one of the few intriguing aspects remaining in the Blueshirts’ season since they entered this full-on rebuilding process.
If Andersson has shown less offensive flair, his two-way reliability has been evident. Vigneault got stuck with Andersson’s line out there Satur- day, when Carolina coach Bill Peters pulled Ward for the extra attacker with over three minutes remaining in regulation. But Andersson and his mates — along with a terrific performance from Lundqvist — were able to hold on to the one-goal lead. “I thought Lias competed real hard,” Vigneault said. “With a little more than three minutes, his line was on the ice. They were battling real hard. [Peters] pulled his goalie a little early, with almost close to three minutes left. A lot of teams don’t really do that. So Lias’ line was out there and they did a good job for us.” All of that is part of the learning process for the Rangers’ young charges, with whom so much hope resides.