FIL’ BLANK IN THE
Filip Chytil had skated for 201 minutes and nine seconds this season for the Rangers before finally getting to exhale.
Once the 19-year-old pounced on a rebound Monday night and made sure his 25th shot of the year was the first one that found the back of the net, Chytil was free to play his game, no longer burdened by a goose egg.
“You see him score and then you see how much more comfortable he is,” Chris Kreider said after the Rangers’ 2-1 win over the Canucks at the Garden. “He just looked like the weight of the world was off his shoulders, flying around. He’s been getting better every game. He’s been working really hard. I think we all are. So it’s coming.”
The Rangers always hoped Chytil just needed to score his first of the season before the floodgates would open. The way he played after tying the game on the power play suggests there is more, in fact, to come.
Chytil nearly scored two more goals before the night was over, but it wasn’t just his offensive chances that were noticeable. “After he potted it, he was around the puck much more, using his legs on the forecheck and using his legs off the puck,” said Kreider, who tallied an assist on Chytil’s goal. “It’s hard when you’re going through a bit of a rough patch. When it turns, I’m sure he’s going to be as hot as a pistol the next few weeks.”
Coach David Quinn will have some decisions to make when the Rangers (9-7-2) get back on the ice Wednesday after Tuesday’s day off. In Monday’s game, Chytil had worked his way up to the top line at left wing, playing alongside Mika Zibanejad and Vladislav Namestnikov, where he seemed to thrive while playing his most minutes (14:08) in nearly three weeks. That included 7:01 in the third period, when Chytil almost put the Rangers ahead before Brett Howden did the trick.
Whether Chytil, a natural center, remains on the top line or at wing remains to be seen. Winger Mats Zuccarello is expected to return from a groin injury in time for Thursday’s game against the Islanders.
“There’s reasons why [Chytil] played as much as he has and he’s had chances and he’s a very dynamic player,” Quinn said. “He’s a threat when he has the puck, for sure. He’s earned the opportunity he got [Monday]. When he plays with that type of pace and is responsible in other areas, he’s going to continue to get the ice time that he deserves.”
Quinn had gotten another young center, Lias Andersson, more minutes by shifting him to the wing, be- lieving his game could translate there. He tried the same for Chtyil during a five-game stretch earlier in the season before sticking him back at center, the position Quinn thought was “more conducive to allowing [Chytil] to have success.”
While Chytil said the position didn’t matter much to him, the number of minutes did.
“I say almost every time, when you play more you feel more comfortable on the ice and you feel more confident,” Chytil said. “I played with Mika and Vladdy and they’re unbelievable players. That was easier for me to play with them.”
His relief upon scoring was visible, with an emphatic celebration and a big yell — “something in Czech,” he said with a laugh.
Chtyil said he hopes it’s only the beginning.
“After [the goal], that was much better and better,” he said. “I’m thankful for every shift when I can be on the ice here.”