Filip Chytil returns to Rangers after missing six games due to injury
Rangers center Filip Chytil looks on against the Red Wings in the first period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Rangers welcomed center Filip Chytil back for Sunday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings after he missed six games with an upper-body injury, believed to be a concussion. But while Chytil was back, the Blueshirts were without defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who sat out with an upper-body injury suffered in Thursday’s loss to Boston.
Chytil, who had two goals and an assist in the six games he played before getting hurt in the Oct. 23 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, returned to his usual third-line spot, starting out between Jimmy Vesey on left and Barclay Goodrow on the right.
In the third period, when coach Gerard Gallant mixed up the lines, Alexis Lafrenière slotted into Vesey’s spot. Chytil ended up playing 13 minutes and 39 seconds, with one shot on goal, two missed shots and one hit. He won 5 of 8 faceoffs and took a minor penalty for hooking late in the first period.
Hajek replaces Lindgren
With Lindgren out, Libor Hajek entered the lineup for his fourth game of the season. He partnered on the third pair with Braden Schneider, while Lindgren’s usual partner, Adam Fox, partnered with K’Andre Miller on the top pair. Miller’s regular partner, Jacob Trouba, partnered with Zac Jones, though when Jones was benched in the third period, the five remaining defensemen rotated.
Hajek ended up playing 15:13, took one shot on goal and was a minus-1. Fox played a team-high 29:38 and Miller played 27:05.
‘Bad call’ in OT?
Dominik Kubalik scored a power-play goal in overtime with Miller in the box for holding a stick. Miller declined to comment afterward, but Gallant, when asked what he thought about the penalty call, didn’t hold back. “I thought it was a bad call,’’ he said.
Kubalik’s goal was reviewed for offside but was upheld.
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.
