Rangers' Patrik Nemeth, Filip Chytil unable to play vs. Capitals
Rangers defenseman Patrik Nemeth skates with the puck against the Predators in the second period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 12, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Neither defenseman Patrik Nemeth nor center Filip Chytil dressed for the Rangers for Thursday night’s game against the Capitals at the Garden.
Nemeth’s wife is expecting, coach Gerard Gallant said. Chytil was "under the weather,’’ according to the coach. It was not COVID-related, Gallant said.
Rookie defenseman Zac Jones, who had been sent down to AHL Hartford on Tuesday, was recalled Thursday, and Gallant said before the game that either he or Libor Hajek would take Nemeth’s place in the lineup. Both dressed for warmups and it was Jones who dressed for the game.
Jones, playing on the third defensive pairing with fellow rookie Braden Schneider, picked up a secondary assist on a first-period goal by Mika Zibanejad that gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in their 4-1 win. It was Jones’ second assist this season.
Rookie forward Morgan Barron entered the lineup to replace Chytil. He played center, between wingers Greg McKegg and Julien Gauthier.
Nemeth missed the first four games in January because of a personal issue, and when he returned to the lineup, he declined to say what the issue was. He then missed the final five games before the NHL All-Star break, again with a personal issue, and the first two games after the break before returning in the Rangers’ last game on Sunday in Ottawa.
Barron, who started the season in Hartford and has been back and forth several times, last played Feb. 1, in the Rangers’ last game before the NHL All-Star break.
Barron had been the extra forward since the Rangers returned from the break and was a healthy scratch for the three games before Thursday. He had played in nine games this season, registering one assist and four penalty minutes.
"He’s played some in some games and we’ve liked what he’s done,’’ Gallant said. "He’s been a guy called up and sent down, and back up, and he’s a young player that I think can skate real well. He’s practiced real hard for us in the last little while.
"So just keep doing what he was doing when he played.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
More Rangers
