The New York Rangers secured a narrow 3-2 victory over the rebuilding San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, but the win was marred by an injury to forward Filip Chytil.
Chytil, 25, left the game in the second period after a collision with teammate K’Andre Miller during a puck battle in the offensive zone. The mishap occurred as the two chased a loose puck, with Miller’s elbow inadvertently making contact with Chytil’s head. Replays showed the brunt of the impact affecting Chytil, who appeared shaken and needed help heading to the locker room.
Chytil briefly returned to the bench but was ultimately ruled out with an upper-body injury. Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette provided little detail on Chytil’s condition, saying only, “Day to day. Getting evaluated right now,” per Mollie Walker of the *New York Post*.
https://twitter.com/DaveyUpper/status/1857233322876813485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1857233322876813485%7Ctwgr%5E1720fd3ffd6b7f7859040ff351512df87677c833%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fathlonsports.com%2Fnhl%2Fnew-york-rangers%2Frangers-filip-chytil-injury-teammate-kandre-miller
The injury raises concerns due to Chytil’s history of head issues, including a concussion that sidelined him for much of last season. So far this season, Chytil has been a reliable contributor, recording 4 goals and 5 assists in 14 games.
Despite Chytil’s absence, the Rangers managed to hold off San Jose’s late rally. Mika Zibanejad led the charge in the second period, scoring his eighth goal of the season to tie the game. Jimmy Vesey and Vincent Trocheck followed up with goals to secure the win.
Igor Shesterkin was solid in net, making 25 saves and thwarting a late comeback effort by the Sharks, who got goals from Timothy Liljegren and Fabian Zetterlund.
With the victory, the Rangers improved to 10-4-1, earning 21 points and holding third place in the Metropolitan Division, just behind the Carolina Hurricanes (22 points) and New Jersey Devils (26 points).
Leave a Reply