Filip Chytil, who is day-to-day with an undisclosed lower-body injury, missed a second straight game Thursday night when the Rangers lost 5-3 to the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena — but the Czech winger possibly will play Friday against the Wild at the Garden.
Head coach Gerard Gallant confirmed Chytil didn’t make the trip to Columbus as he works his way back from the injury he sustained in the first period of the Rangers’ win over the Coyotes on Saturday.
Without Chytil, Morgan Barron has stepped into the third-line center role. The Rangers are also still without Kaapo Kakko, who is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of the last three games. As a result, Gallant has had to fill the right-wing vacancy on the top line next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
The latest experiment featured the big-bodied Julien Gauthier flanking the Rangers’ All-Stars.
“There’s some injuries,” Gallant said of putting Gauthier on the first unit. “Obviously, the guy that’s supposed to be there is not playing, so Gauthier gets the opportunity. He’s been a steady guy, he’s played with a lot of different people this year in our lineup. I like his speed. He gets an opportunity to play with two of the top players on our team, they’re having real good seasons and I like what he brings.
“He brings speed, he’s playing a real good game now. He’s more confident than he was earlier in the year.”
When asked if he had any sort of message for Gauthier ahead of his official debut in the top six, Gallant said he just wants the 24-year-old winger to play his game. And it’s certainly not lost on Gauthier how big an opportunity this is for him.
“I mean, it’s the first time I think I’ve been on top six for my whole stint with the Rangers right now,” he said. “So I think it’s pretty exciting. Happy to play with those two guys [Thursday night] and see how it goes.”
Gallant had originally experimented with starting Artemi Panarin on the top line, but the coach ultimately moved him back to the left wing, with Ryan Strome. Panarin has made it known he is most comfortable playing next to Strome. Barclay Goodrow has filled the right-wing spot on the second line.
Alexis Lafreniere was briefly bumped back into the top six for the game against the Kings on Monday, but it didn’t last long. The Panarin-Strome duo is evidently too established to risk breaking it up to give Lafreniere second-line minutes.
So Gallant is going with Gauthier instead of Lafreniere, who remained on the third line alongside Barron and Dryden Hunt. Lafreniere hasn’t shown a promising ability to flip to his offside on the right, which is likely why Gauthier earned the top-line nod this time around.
“You look at guys like Mika and Kreids, every night they play the right way,” Gauthier said. “They do the little things that other guys don’t do, and that’s why they’re so successful in [this] league, you know? Just trying to recreate what they’re doing and try to follow their pace. You know, I’m a guy with a lot of speed, so that’s not going to be a problem. But just to adjust, be in the right spot, and communicate with them, because you haven’t played together yet.”
Forward Jonny Brodzinski and defenseman Zac Jones were recalled to the active roster ahead of the game Thursday. In a subsequent move, the Rangers assigned Tim Gettinger, Nils Lundkvist, Lauri Pajuniemi and Tarmo Reunanen to the taxi squad.