Rangers Forward Filip Chytil Leaves Game and Does Not Return After Getting Drilled by His Own Teammate
New York Rangers forward Filip Chytil left tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks early after awkwardly colliding with his teammate K'Andre Miller.
The play came during the second period as the Rangers were cycling the puck in the offensive zone. The puck squirted out to an open space in no-man's-land, leading to both Chytil and Miller chasing it down. Unfortunately, the two players did not communicate with each other, resulting in a heavy collision that Chytil got the worse of.
Making matters worse is the fact that the play resulted in a 3-on-1 for the Sharks going the other way. Luckily for the Rangers, the Sharks are still one of the worst teams in the NHL and they failed to even get a shot on goal on the play.
Chytil did make one more appearance in the game, playing a single shift late in the second period. However, he did miss a significant amount of time in the period before that.
During the intermission going into the 3rd, the Rangers confirmed that Chytil would not return to the contest. This could have been precautionary as the Rangers held a 3-1 lead in the game, which must have made them very confident about the result given the disparity between the two teams.
Naturally, the Rangers would go on to win the game. They did give up a 6-on-5 goal in the dying seconds, but the Sharks did not have enough time to score again to force overtime.
We will have to hear from Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette for an update on Chytil's condition. The 25-year-old is currently on pace for a career year with 9 points through 14 games, so losing him would be a big deal. Hopefully, he will be able to return shortly. Tune in tomorrow for an update on his condition.
