Blueshirts’ future on display in Buffalo

While the Rangers’ present was in the Garden losing a 5-2 game to the Blackhawks on Wednesday night, two big parts of the organization’s future were on display in Buffalo.

That was where both firstround picks from this year’s draft, No. 7-overall Lias Andersson of Sweden and No. 21-overall Filip Chytil of the Czech Republic, were still alive in the final four of the World Junior Championship tournament.

Andersson is Sweden’s captain and is tied for second with five goals through the first five games as the Swedes prepared to play the United States on Thursday during the first semifinal starting at 4 p.m. Andersson just missed the final cut at Rangers training camp, and the 19-year-old center has spent the past few months playing for his Swedish club team, Frolunda.

Chytil is the 18-year-old forward who made the Rangers out of training camp but played just two NHL games before being sent to AHL Hartford, where he will return once the tournament is over. He has two goals and four points in five games, while his team prepared to play Canada in the other semifinal at 8 p.m. Thursday.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said he has watched the tournament “in and out, like any hockey fan. But we’ve had a lot of games here, so I have to focus on my team more.” But that’s not to say that Vigneault isn’t happy the Blueshirts have some players to look forward to.

“We’re fortunate,” Vigneault said. “We have two good young players right now that are playing real well in that tournament.”

There was no update on forward Chris Kreider, who missed his third straight game with a blood clot in his right arm and has no timetable for a return.

Rookie forward Vinni Lettieri was a healthy scratch for the second straight game after making his NHL debut on Friday in Detroit. He is expected to stay with the team through this road trip.