Filip Chytil didn’t warm up for long in the Vancouver Canucks jersey. Returning from a mid-October to late January layoff, he played in just six games before another injury sidelined him in Monday’s game against the Utah Mammoth.
The Czech center left the game after two periods, during which he managed less than eight minutes on the ice and a balance of three negative points. Without him, Vancouver suffered a 6-2 debacle in Salt Lake City and continues to languish at the bottom of the NHL.
Head coach Adam Foote confirmed after the game that Chytil had “strained something” which ruled him out of the final 20 minutes. Given the player’s extensive history of concussions, speculation of another head injury was immediately rife. Asked directly by journalist Thomas Drance if this was the type of issue, Foote replied curtly: “I hope not.” The official diagnosis has not yet been released, but for Chytil it is another in a series of frustrating obstacles in a season in which he originally had the ambition to play a full portion of 82 games.
At the same time, the attacker himself already talked about how difficult it is for him and his family to watch hockey only from the stands when he returned in January.
“It was very difficult from the beginning, because I hoped that I would be able to play all 82 games, but it was not so… Sometimes days like these in the last two years are very difficult for me and my wife, and especially for my family. I missed so many events, I missed so many games in the NHL, and now I will also come to the Olympics. So it’s for nothing, but it is what it is,” Chytil admitted in January.
The statistics of the Czech striker in the Canucks jersey are very modest so far due to injuries. Since arriving from New York Rangers last year, he managed to play in only 27 games. He has three goals and no assists this season, with his last streak coming back from the injured list without a single point.
If Chytil is unable to start Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, which seems likely given his history, Aatu Räty will likely return to the lineup. For the Canucks, this is the last game before the Olympic break, during which Chytil will have room for further recovery.
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