New York Rangers center Filip Chytil appears ready to return to start the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers, with Game 1 set for May 22 at Madison Square Garden.
The Blueshirts would be best served by Chytil making two returns in the series opener.
If the 24-year-old finds his name on the lineup card, coach Peter Laviolette also shouldn’t hesitate to put him back in middle of the third line – a move that would give the Rangers their best configuration in their toughest test yet of this postseason.
Chytil’s triumphant entry into the lineup in Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, following a suspected concussion in November that had seemingly ended his season, lasted only the one contest. Yet the illness that was given as the reason him being a healthy scratch for the final three games of that series turned out to be unrelated to the suspected head injury he suffered against those Hurricanes six months ago.
Chytil skated on a line with Alex Wennberg at center and Kaapo Kakko on the right in his comeback, and that’s where he was during practice May 20, indicating that he’ll likely remain at left wing with the duo if he plays. Laviolette, though, should strongly consider moving Chytil back to his natural spot with Will Cuylle on his left and Kakko on the right – a decision that would bolster the third and fourth lines and create more versatility and depth.
Chytil Instead of Wennberg Would Make 3rd Line More Offensively Potent
Slotting Chytil into the middle of the third line instantly makes that unit a considerably more dangerous group. Cuylle, whose game has risen in these playoffs, has been using his speed and size to attack the net in impressive fashion. Yet the 22-year-old rookie has yet to pair with an offensive-minded center – a fact that makes one wonder how much more productive the power forward could be with someone like Chytil employing his skill and skating to push the puck up ice alongside Cuylle.
Alex Wennberg, acquired at the trade deadline to fill the hole at 3C left by Chytil’s injury, has been very impressive defensively, a heady player who can match up with top forward units and kill penalties. Laviolette has had clear trust in the Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko trio, which was outstanding during the Carolina series, posting an expected goal share of 63 percent in 36:49 together.
The line, however, managed to score only one goal while allowing one at even strength. Though not solely his fault, that third unit struggles to score in part because of Wennberg, whose offensive game has cratered since joining the Rangers, as he’s scored one goal in 29 combined games since arriving. In 19 regular-season games, Wennberg was credited with only 10 shots on goal. He’s recorded six in the Blueshirts’ 10 playoff contests.
As beneficial as Wennberg’s presence in the lineup is, he’s anything but dynamic in the opponent’s zone. Again, fair or not, that limits the effectiveness of Cuylle and Kakko, who are also mostly responsible defensively and tend to drive possession, but have greater offensive upside.
Related: Rangers Won’t Beat Panthers if They Don’t Tighten Up Defensively
That’s why moving Chytil to center on their line makes sense. Even in his one game in these playoffs, Chytil looked like his old self, creating quick offensive zone entries, buzzing around the Hurricanes’ net and recording a dangerous chance when he drove to the goal, only to have goaltender Frederik Andersen poke the puck away.
He certainly sounds more than ready to contribute.
“I didn’t join just to (support) guys from the stands and take a vacation in Carolina and Florida,” Chytil said after practice May 20. “I don’t want to create any other headlines like I did after (my) last game so I’m just going to say I can bring some speed to the game, I can bring some skill, creating chances, shooting, just going to bring my game.” (From ‘Rangers Once Known as ‘The Kids’ Have Each Grown Into Different Roles’, New York Post, 5/20/24)
A Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko alignment would give the Rangers three true offensive forward units – something they’ve managed to not really need to this point. Plus, Chytil is a largely responsible defensive presence who drives possession, recording Corsi for percentages of at least 52.9 each of the last three seasons and a 50.3 expected goal share since the start of the 2022-23 season. In theory, such a line wouldn’t need to be sheltered much, with Laviolette able to feel just as confident that it could hold its own against whichever forward trio the Panthers throw at it.
Moving Wennberg to 4th Line Creates True Matchup Unit
The secondary benefit of such a move isn’t a small one, either. If Chytil plays in the middle of the third line, Laviolette could push Wennberg to the fourth unit, allowing him to create a true matchup line that could be used extensively against Florida’s lethal top two lines of Vladimir Tarasenko, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Matthew Tkachuk. Wennberg would play center between Barclay Goodrow and Jimmy Vesey, creating a trio of speed, physicality and strong defensive play that could take on a couple of lines that possess size and edge and elite offensive ability.
Laviolette is sure to send his top two forward units against the Panthers’ big guns often. At home and with the last change, though, he could deploy his newly-formed fourth line against Florida’s top six, freeing the Chris Kreider-Mike Zibanejad-Jack Roslovic trio and the Artemi Panarin-Vincent Trocheck-Alexis Lafreniere unit from having to match up consistently with Florida’s bread-and-butter lines.
The Panthers’ third line of Eetu Luostarinen, Sam Bennett and Evan Rodrigues is a strong unit as well. Again, though, it seems entirely reasonable to believe that swapping Wennberg for Chytil on the third unit with Cuylle and Kakko would hardly compromise its status as the possession machine it’s been with Wennberg in the middle. An offensively potent third line should in theory negate that potential advantage for Florida.
There’s an opportunity to raise the effectiveness of the line by adding Chytil, and it seems obvious at some point in this postseason – as in likely now, with this meeting with the powerful Panthers – the Rangers are going to require it. Their top two lines have mostly produced at the level a team needs its best forwards to produce at to win the Stanley Cup, but in a long playoff run, rosters that lack scoring depth at the bottom of the lineup eventually get exposed. As effective as Cuylle-Wennberg-Kakko has been, the strong all-around play hasn’t translated to goals. That can’t continue for much longer if the Blueshirts want to win a championship.
No, Chytil isn’t very good on faceoffs – he has a career win mark of 40.4 percent and was at a career-high 43.3 in his 10 games this season before getting hurt. He did, however, win 39 of 64 draws (60.9) during the 2023 playoffs, indicating that that part of his game might also be growing (It’s probably unrealistic to consider this a safety valve of sorts, but expected linemate Kakko has won 17 of 29 faceoffs this season – 58.6 percent between the regular season and playoffs). For his part, Wennberg hasn’t exactly been dominating at the dot in these playoffs, winning 46.3 percent.
Laviolette looks committed to easing Chytil back in on the wing. And it’s true that Chytil can hardly be counted on at this point to play big minutes in this series – the Rangers need to find out if he can just get through one game without having to sit out the next one.
Cutting Down Cuylle’s Minutes Isn’t a Sound Strategy
If Chytil is ready to re-assume a regular role, however, leaving him on the left side of Wennberg and Kakko just doesn’t appear to be the best lineup the deep Rangers can run out. The club doesn’t need fewer minutes from Cuylle, whose heavy, fast game has predictably shined amidst the postseason grind, as he’s posted a 58 expected goal share in these playoffs.
Plus, Cuylle, Vesey and Goodrow – the possible fourth line for Game 1 – have spent 14:55 together at even strength in this postseason, and the results have been downright ugly. Though a fairly brief sample size, the unit has posted an expected goal share of 11.7 (!), getting outchanced 12-0 and 6-0 on high danger chances. They haven’t given up a goal at 5-on-5, but it seems clear that could easily change with more time as a unit.
Chytil’s unexpected return to the Rangers could be a boon for them, but maximizing his effect is up to Laviolette. The best way to do it would seem to be putting him back at his natural spot – from where he busted out last season with career highs of 22 goals and 23 points, and where the club expected him to become a mainstay when it signed him to a four-year, $17.75 million contract extension March 29.
Placing some faith in Chytil could make the Rangers markedly better as they take on a very tough foe in the East Final. That might be precisely what’s required to reach the championship series for the first time in a decade.
