'LIP SERVICE
Chytil delivering after promotion
Filip Chytil has been back with the Rangers for two games this season and has two goals and two wins to show for it.
The 20-year-old center may have his defensive work to thank.
Chytil arrived from AHL Hartford last Monday with a focus on playing a more complete game, and so far, he and the Rangers have reaped the rewards.
“I just think he’s doing the right things,” said Chris Kreider, who has played both games on Chytil’s left with Pavel Buchnevich on the right to make up the second line. “He’s doing the little things that lead to success. The details, playing good defense, and then that’s leading to his offense. I think that’s something that if he can consistently focus on it, then he’s going to have an impact on games, and coaches are going to be able to rely on him.”
Chytil is a natural center but played plenty of wing last season as the Rangers tried to find a way to get him on the ice. Now he is back to playing center full time, an opportunity that opened in part due to Mika Zibanejad’s injury, and he is determined to use the defensive responsibilities that come with the position to his benefit.
“I play center this year. That’s the biggest difference, I think,” Chytil said Sunday after a short Rangers practice ahead of Monday’s meeting with the Senators at the Garden. “There’s different responsibilities. … Center’s my position and trying to play as much as I can and try to focus on the details in my game and bring it to my game.”
There is also a renewed confidence that Chytil has brought to the ice, which has caught coach David Quinn’s attention.
“I think he went down to Hartford and he went down with a great attitude and didn’t sulk and moan and went down and got better,” Quinn said. “It’s a great example for anybody in his shoes when training camp ended. He went down, right from the get-go, right from the first practice, every report we got was how good he was.
After doing the important dirty work, Chytil has been able to show off his offensive skill. His impressive deflection Tuesday night went down as the winning goal against the Lightning before flashing a slick toe drag to put the Rangers on the board first in Saturday’s win over the Predators.
Chytil had put up big numbers in Hartford — three goals and nine points in nine games — but the Rangers were hoping he would grab his latest opportunity in the NHL and run with it. So far, he hasn’t looked back.
“I feel better and more comfortable out there than in training camp, for sure, and than last year,” Chytil said. “In Hartford, I felt it from coaches and everyone — they believed in me and I was playing a lot. I was playing all important situations. I could try a lot of things, a lot of new things, and bring it to my game. It worked, so I just tried to bring it here and play like that.”