At Rangers practice today the lines being used are (Rosen):
- Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Jack Roslovic
- Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere
- Filip Chytil, Alex Wennberg, Kaapo Kakko
- Will Cuylle, Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren is not skating with what the team is calling a maintenance day.
K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba were skating together on defense. (Rosen)
The PP units being used are (Rosen):
- Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Vincent Trocheck
- Alex Wennberg, Jack Roslovic, Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere, Erik Gustafsson
Matt Rempe and Jonny Brodzinski skated with the extra players after practice. (Stephenson)
Adam Rotter: Based on today it would seem as if Filip Chytil is going to return for Game 1. Everything with him still feels day-by-day and we’ll see how they skate tomorrow, but getting time on the PP is usually a sign of someone coming back into the lineup. It’s a huge boost if Chytil comes back and the roar he will get the first time he steps on the ice at MSG will be huge. It may not be a sustained reaction like every time Rempe hits the ice, but getting Chytil back and playing regular minutes is huge for the Rangers. There is just way more upside with Chytil playing than anyone else. Hopefully he’ll be good to go.
I’d be surprised if we saw Blake Wheeler anytime soon. That could change if it’s a long series and/or the Rangers deal with injuries, but for now I don’t think he’s a real option.