Chytil building on playoff success for Rangers as driver of 'Kid Line'

NEWARK, N.J. --Filip Chytil is still building on what he did in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year.

The encore could be even better for the New York Rangers center, who had two points on an assist and an empty-net goal in a 5-1 win against the New Jersey Devils in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday.
Game 2 is at Prudential Center on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TBS, SN360, TVAS2, MSGSN, MSG).
"I know what's in me and I know the process for me," Chytil said. "I said many times what I did last year in the playoffs I expected throughout the season last year, but with injuries and everything around it was just a bad year. But I went into the offseason with a different mindset after the playoffs. That was a big experience and huge for me."
RELATED: [Complete Devils vs. Rangers series coverage]
Chytil scored seven goals in 20 playoff games after scoring eight in 67 games of the 2021-22 regular season. It was a breakout for him as the center on the Rangers' third line, which affectionately became known as the "Kid Line" with
Alexis Lafreniere
and Kaapo Kakko.
Chytil was 22, Kakko 21 and Lafreniere 20 during New York's run to the Eastern Conference Final, a six-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
This season, Chytil had 45 points (22 goals, 23 assists) in 74 games. He hadn't scored more than 14 goals or had more than 14 assists in any of his previous four NHL seasons. He agreed to a four-year, $17.75 million contract (average annual value of $4.4375 million) March 29.
Chytil is still the center on the Kid Line, though they're not so keen on being called kids anymore now that they're all a year older. But it is an X-factor line for the Rangers, and Chytil is the driver.
"My people who I work with in (the Czech Republic) they know me 100 percent, everything about me, and they saw I had so many chances last year," Chytil said. "We were talking about it after the season, looking at the clips, and we saw there were too many chances to score only eight goals. In the playoffs, there was a lot of chances and I scored only seven, but finally I was putting it in. We focused a lot on that in the offseason, shooting and play around the net. That was the main focus, to focus on finishing, a quick release."
Chytil's production in the playoffs last season left open the chance that the Rangers could elevate him to No. 2 on their center depth chart behind Mika Zibanejad. They knew they were going to lose Ryan Strome in free agency and Chytil was certainly an option.
But Vincent Trocheck became an option to replace Strome and the Rangers jumped at it, signing the 29-year-old to a seven-year contract July 13, leaving Chytil to remain as the No. 3 center.
That was fine with Chytil, who nevertheless views himself as a top center and his line as a top line that just gets third-line minutes.
"It doesn't matter for me," he said. "It may look weird, but for me it doesn't matter that I have Mika ahead of me or 'Troch.' They're great players and it's great for the whole team. But for me, nothing changes. Every time I go on the ice, I want to impact the game. I want to change the game. And I know I did it many times this season."

Chytil changes the game with his speed, which only increases his value in this best-of-7 series against the Devils, who have been one of the fastest, if not the fastest team in the NHL this season.
"Him skating that well up the middle, it opens up us on the wings," Lafreniere said. "His shot too. You find him in a good spot, you know he has a good chance to score."
Because Chytil uses his speed through the middle of the ice, Kakko and Lafreniere know when they get the puck on the wings their first look is up the ice to the middle to see if Chytil is streaking past his defender.
"We're going to get some 2-on-1s," Kakko said.
Lafreniere credited Chytil with good timing too, knowing when to rev himself up through the middle of the ice so he's not at risk of flying the zone too soon but can still get a pass in stride to get a rush chance.
"Whenever I get it, I look to the middle and if you can find a way to get it to him, with his speed he's going to be able to beat guys up the ice," Lafreniere said. "And he can make plays."
Said Zibanejad, "You also have to remember how well 'Laf' and 'Kaap' are able to get him the puck with speed through the middle. A lot of guys can't skate with him."
Chytil is just as effective holding onto pucks low in the offensive zone, which might just be the bread and butter of the entire Kid Line with how well all three manage the puck, reset the play and move out of the corners so they funnel the play to the front or behind the net.
"We're a third line, but most of the season we were so consistent with how we played," Chytil said. "We played together for a longer period and after the trade deadline we were putting up consistently the numbers. Even when we didn't produce, we still had chances. We could change the game with how we play the game in the offensive zone and with our energy. When you look around the locker room we have big names, but also us, and we can do this."
The more they do, and the more Chytil drives it, the longer the Rangers will play this spring.
Maybe even longer than last spring if he keeps putting up numbers.