Usually, a good scratch in Game 4 of the Conference Finals would be reasonable cause for a player to be upset.
But in the case of Filip Chytil it is a little different and a little more complicated.
Chytil, who appeared to be back in the lineup for Game 5 against the Panthers when the Rangers skated Thursday morning, wants to play.
Of course he wants to play.
But he understands his situation requires a little extra care, having sat out for six months before returning from a suspected concussion that originally appeared to end his season.
Since returning in Game 3 of the second round against the Hurricanes, Chytil sat out the remainder of this series and played in the first three games against the Panthers over a six-day span.
After all the time he had gone without this kind of effort, the situation required some management.
“I didn’t make a decision, it’s not my job,” Chytil said before the fifth game. “But of course I didn’t play too long. I wouldn’t help the team at all if I went in there and wouldn’t be ready at all, no energy or something like that. Every game counts in the playoffs. We have to win every game.
It’s a tightrope the Rangers have to walk over regarding Chytil’s health and what’s best for the team.
Aside from the 20:09 he skated in Game 2, which ended 14:01 into overtime, the Czech hasn’t played more than 14:10 in a game since his return.
He admits it hasn’t been easy.
“It’s more about muscle memory for me to do things instinctively, and it’s not like I play every other day and you have confidence in everything you do because you do it every “I haven’t done it for so long,” Chytil said. “So it’s more about muscle memory and using my instincts, which is what I learned my whole life before. injury) happens and that’s all I can do at the moment. I just give everything I can every shift that I’m there.
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Overall, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, the players Chytil has primarily shared a line with since his return, entered Thursday night with no points in the series between them.
And Blake Wheeler, who played Game 4 in his first game since suffering a leg injury in mid-February, is in a similar situation to Chytil.
“I think there are a lot of factors that go into the (roster) decisions we make,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “The player and the rehab he had, the time he missed, just giving every player the chance to be successful every night.”
In Chytil’s case, Laviolette said the situation requires tough, honest conversations between Chytil and the coaching staff about how he feels, how he plays and the impact of the schedule.
The cliché when a player misses training camp and returns mid-season is that it’s like jumping on a bandwagon.
In Chytil’s case, it’s like jumping aboard a fighter jet.
“I don’t know (that) we talked specifically about that kind of thing. But I didn’t play for a long time and it was a long way for me since I was playing before,” Chytil said. “The last three games I was very intense, very hard. Between the second and the third game we didn’t get much rest It was just when the coaches, or us together, communicated and decided it would be better for the last game to put someone else out there. .And I will do my job and wait for the coach to choose me for a match.
New York Post
