Vitali Kravtsov will be unavailable for at least a week with an upper-body injury, the Rangers announced Tuesday before facing the Flyers at Madison Square Garden, meaning the 22-year-old winger will be sidelined through at least the next four games.
This will mark the third stretch of games Kravtsov has had to miss due to injury, after he suffered upper-body injuries in the season opener and in the 3-2 loss to the Avalanche on Oct. 25, which was just two games after he returned from the first injury.
Kravtsov, who has a prominent bruise on his nose, sustained his most recent injury — which is suspected to have something to do with his head — in a race for the puck against the Stars this past weekend. He was crunched into the boards by Dallas defenseman Jani Hakanpaa and was slow to get up before exiting to the locker room.
“Every time he gets on the ice he gets hurt, it’s a shame,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said after morning skate in Tarrytown. “He put himself in a bad spot the other night and he got hit real hard. … Stick with it. Keep working hard, get back on the ice and get ready to go. It’s all you can do. You can’t worry about what’s happened in the past, he’s got to look forward to his next game and keep doing his thing.
“He’s done nothing to hurt his chances, but in the same hand, he hasn’t caught a break yet.”
Asked if he thinks Kravtsov will learn to protect himself better as he gains more NHL experience, Gallant said he hoped so.
“You’ve got to play the game hard, you’ve got to play the game aggressive, but he probably put himself in a bad situation the other night,” the coach said. “I want him going and being first on pucks, we talked about it. Not be a little smarter, but be a little safer than that. It’s too bad, because he’s played OK.”
Kravtsov hasn’t had much of an opportunity to get acclimated to the NHL game amid all these injuries. He’s logged 28:52 of ice time in four games, recording zero points and zero shots on goal.
Filip Chytil (upper-body injury) is still considered day-to-day, but the Czech center has resumed skating.
“I don’t want to say how close [he is to returning], I don’t know,” Gallant said. “It’s day-to-day, that’s all I know. He’s doing well. He’s skating hard, working and getting ready to play.”