In the Ranger’s 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, Filip Chytil went down with an upper-body injury early in the first period. ESPN Sports lists him as day-to-day, possibly meaning he won’t play in Tuesday’s matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.

Chytil was a shining light in the Ranger’s 3 – 2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks, netting one goal and generating a lot of offensive pressure, creating multiple scoring opportunities in that game, including a special one right in the first period where Chytil worked the puck along the boards. 

Chytil’s goal during the sharks game occurred in the second period when Luke Kunin lost control of the puck in the neutral zone, and Chytil gained control, leaving the sharks open for a one-on-one, and scored through James Reimer’s five-hole.

When Chytil got injured during his first shift against Columbus, the Ranger’s play went downhill. Though it was an early injury, you could see the shift in the level of play without him. Lines had to be mixed up, and Gallant could not get any lines that clicked. 

If you look at Chytil’s stats from his five complete games, he has generated nine shots like last season, but this season, Chytil has met the first-quarter goals he achieved last season. Physically, he’s registered six hits, 25% of last year’s total hits. He’s also registered five blocked shots, five more than last season.

Chytil was one of the most significant driving forces along with Artemi Panarin during the Sharks game. @hockeystatcards graph on Twitter showed he generated the most significant defensive impact for forwards during the game and the second-highest rate of production during the game.

Chytil took off during the 2021-2022 season playoffs, racking up 9 points with seven goals, nearly matching his goals during the regular season, but it wasn’t just goals. During the 20 playoff games played, he registered 14 hits (over half of all regular season hits) and he had 2.2 shots on goal to goals percentage, an increase of .7 from the regular season.

You don’t need the stats to say he improved. You can see the aggressiveness increase if you watch the playoff games, and throughout the start of this season, you can see how his play has been elevated, along with his confidence. He’s making risky plays going for the puck and generating offensive and defensive opportunities, and they’ve been paying off; he’s going into this season STRONG.

This season Chytil is ready to show up, and Rangers fans are here for it.