Sports

Filip Chytil’s early struggles aren’t changing Rangers plans

Game No. 9 comes Tuesday night for Filip Chytil when the Panthers come to the Garden, but who’s counting? Well, not Jeff Gorton.

“The contract slide hasn’t been a focus of ours,” the Rangers general manager told The Post before Monday’s practice session. “We’re not thinking about Hartford for Filip. We think he’s in the right place.”

Chytil has yet to score a goal while chipping in with a pair of assists in averaging 13:42 of ice in eight contests. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games this season, his three-year entry-level contract would not kick in until next year. That also holds true for Lias Andersson, who was dispatched to the AHL Wolf Pack in training camp’s final cut.

Andersson leads his team with eight points (3-5) in eight games. The Rangers are keeping watch on the 2017 seventh-overall selection but management doesn’t seem on the verge of recalling the center. Again, though, the contract slide is not an issue.





“Lias is playing well,” Gorton said. “At this point, we want him in a place where he’s playing major minutes in all situations. He’s getting about 20:00 a night there. I wouldn’t be comfortable with him getting seven or eight minutes a night here.

“As the year goes on, certainly it’s something we’ll be monitoring.”

Freddy Claesson, who had been impressive in four games on the blue line, was placed on IR retroactive to Oct. 17, when he suffered an unspecified upper-body injury that will sideline him for two-to-three weeks, according to coach David Quinn.

That opens a roster spot that could be filled by Matt Beleskey once the winger recovers from the shoulder injury he sustained in a Sept. 24 preseason bout with Eric Gryba that has had him on IR since the start of the year.





Beleskey, acquired from the Bruins at last year’s deadline as part of the Rick Nash deal, was a full participant in practice. He said that he felt good, but that he hasn’t hit anyone yet. The Rangers will check his status before deciding whether to bring him on the four-game road trip to Chicago and California that commences Thursday.

Boo Nieves, sidelined since suffering a preseason concussion on a hit from the same Gryba on Sept. 17, took part in the first half of Monday’s practice while wearing a non-contact jersey.

We’re talking ‘bout practice.

Quinn on Sunday said that he had talked with Tony DeAngelo, set to be a healthy scratch for the seventh time, about what the defenseman needs to do to get in the lineup.





Monday, the coach was asked whether he was talking specifically about things the defenseman needs to show in practice in order to crack the lineup.

“Yes, absolutely,” the coach said.

It was a bizarre situation. When Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson clocked Mats Zuccarello with an open ice, neutral-zone check with just about two minutes to go in Sunday’s 4-1 defeat, Brady Skjei immediately jumped the defenseman, flung off his gloves and started throwing punches. In the meantime, Garnet Hathaway raced in alone to beat Henrik Lundqvist for the game’s final goal.

“Ideally, that was not the time, but I am never going to criticize a guy for standing up for a teammate,” Quinn said.

PS: Skjei was not assessed a penalty on the play.

Alex Georgiev, who went 1-1/3.02/.905 in two weekend starts for the Wolf Pack, was recalled on Monday and will be in nets for this one against the 1-2-3 Puddy Tats.





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