During the Rangers’ win over the Sharks this past Thursday night, Filip Chytil was injured when he accidentally collided with teammate K’Andre Miller with 7:49 remaining in the second period. Both Chytil and Miller converged on a loose puck to keep a play alive in the offensive zone.

Chytil went to the locker room to get checked out after a stoppage with 7:34 left. He returned to the game before the period concluded. In fact, he only missed a single shift. He took a regular shift with his linemates, Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko with 3:39 remaining. As it turned out, it was his final one of the game. He didn’t return for the third period.

Following the game, Rangers coach Peter Laviolette indicated that Chytil suffered an upper-body injury. As usual, he couldn’t get into specifics. That didn’t change on Friday after practice.

“We’re always careful with players. Nobody jumps back without doctors and everybody doing their job. And players come back out on the ice and they get put into games for health reasons. So, there’s always that. We’re always watching out for the players. Right now, [Chytil] is still getting evaluated and we’ll see,” Laviolette told reporters.

As expected, Chytil didn’t fly with the team to Seattle for the first of a four-game Western road swing that includes stops in Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton this week. The Rangers will return to action versus the Kraken later tonight.

Without Chytil, they recalled Jake Leschyshyn from the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday. Leschyshyn will be a placeholder for now. Jonny Brodzinski will move into Chytil’s spot to center the third line. He has played with Cuylle and Kakko before last season. So. They should be familiar with each other.

If he isn’t out long-term, there’s even the slight possibility that Chytil could rejoin the Rangers later on the trip. It all depends on how he progresses. Obviously, given his injury history, they’ll proceed with caution. His health and well being is the most important thing. When it comes to Chytil, you’re hoping for the best. Nobody knows what’s going on. We shouldn’t assume anything. If he was cleared to return to the game on Nov. 14, it’s hard to draw any conclusions.

Following the unfortunate injury he sustained, Miller came under fire on social media from incensed fans. It’s one thing to criticize his defensive play. But quite another to rip into him for a freak accident that occurred with Chytil. I’m sure nobody feels worse than Miller about what happened. Sometimes, things happen.

Hockey is an unpredictable game. If two players are coming from reverse angles with speed for a loose puck, they can collide. Especially if they don’t see each other. Neither Miller nor Chytil knew where they were. They had their heads down. Chytil was moving faster than Miller, who braced himself at the last second. It could’ve been worse. It wasn’t that hard a collision. Hopefully, it isn’t the worst case scenario.

If he’s out for an extended period, the Rangers will miss him. Chytil was off to a good start. He had four goals and five assists for nine points and was tied with Cuylle for first among Rangers’ forwards with a plus-11 rating. The line of Chytil, Cuylle, and Kakko had outscored opponents 11-0 at five-on-five. Chytil has been a big part of it. His game-breaking speed allows them to transition quickly and get things set up. He looked stronger. The chemistry they’ve had makes them an asset. For the time being, Brodzinski will slot in.

Miller has had his struggles thus far. He’s made several mistakes that have led to goals against. It doesn’t help that his offense has suffered. With only a goal and assist, he must perform better to justify his spot in the lineup. Currently, Miller is back playing with Adam Fox. They had a good game the other night after being reunited. We’ll see if Miller can turn it around.

Flashback to LaFontaine

A long time ago during another era, Pat LaFontaine was acquired by the Rangers from the Buffalo Sabres for a second round pick due to him missing most of 1996-97 due to suffering a concussion on a big hit from Francois Leroux. It was thought that he’d retire due to the severity of the injury. He suffered from post-concussion syndrome. Instead, he came back and played for the Rangers during 1997-98.

A great player who’s considered one of the best American-born players in history, LaFontaine proved that he still had it. He was second in team scoring with 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points in 67 games. Unfortunately, it all came to an end when teammate Mike Keane accidentally collided with LaFontaine during a game against the Ottawa Senators on Mar. 16, 1998. He missed the remainder of the season and the entirety of 1998-99. He announced his retirement on Oct. 12, 1999.

For his career, LaFontaine finished with 468 goals, 545 assists, and 1,013 points. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player in 2003.

Rempe Scores in Wolf Pack Win

In other news, the Wolf Pack defeated the Providence Bruins 4-2 last night at XL Center in Hartford. They got 32 saves from Dylan Garand.

For the first time this season, Matt Rempe got on the score sheet. He scored his first goal and added an assist in the win. Rempe converted a two-on-one off an Adam Sykora pass to ice the game with 3:25 remaining. Earlier in the third period, he helped set up Casey Fitzgerald to put the Wolf Pack ahead 2-1. Sykora picked up a primary helper. He tallied two assists.

Brett Berard also recorded two assists. He got primary helpers on goals from Blake Hillman and Connor Mackey. Berard leads the Wolf Pack in scoring with 11 points (6-5-11). Sykora is tied for fourth with eight (3-5-8).

Hartford improved to 7-5-1-1 on the season. They are third in the Atlantic Division with 16 points. Their next game is this Tuesday against the Charlotte Checkers. Game time is 11 AM.

Quick Gets the Start

It’ll be Jonathan Quick in the Rangers’ net when they challenge the Kraken at 9 PM tonight. In three starts, he’s been brilliant winning all three while allowing only three goals on 111 shots. In four appearances, he has a 1.17 goals-against-average (GAA) and .964 save percentage.

His last start came in a win over the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 9. Quick stifled the Red Wings by making 37 saves for the 61st shutout of his career. It also was win number 397. He is three shy of 400.