Rangers facing lineup decisions for road trip as they await Filip Chytil injury clarity

Whether Filip Chytil travels with the Rangers on their upcoming four-game road trip out west should give a pretty good indication of the severity of the Czech center’s injury.That, and whether the 25-year-old is even on the ice when the Blueshirts return to practice Saturday at MSG Training Center ahead of their flight to Seattle.Given Chytil’s extensive injury history, the Rangers are likely to play it safe regardless of the details.There’s always a possibility Chytil will be on the ice and on the team plane Saturday, like Thursday night’s collision with K’Andre Miller along the left half boards never happened.The way his last year or so has gone, however, has left everyone understandably wary.Last season, the Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy despite losing Chytil 10 games into the season after he was bumped by Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast and suffered what is believed to be the fourth concussion of his eight-year NHL career.It was a grueling road to recovery, one that included a setback in January, a reset trip home to Czechia and an unstable run in the playoffs.So when Chytil took just one 61-second shift following the collision Thursday night, before it became apparent he couldn’t finish the game and had to retreat back to the locker room, flashbacks to his struggles to stay on the ice last season came flooding back.It’s difficult not to brace yourself for the worst when that’s been the usual outcome regarding this specific player.If Chytil isn’t available for this four-game swing in Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton — or for the foreseeable future — Jonny Brodzinski will likely step in, as he did when Chytil went down last November.The Rangers will presumably want to recall someone from the Hartford Wolf Pack to ensure they have an extra forward on the trip.Word out of Hartford on Thursday night was that Brennan Othmann, who was projected to miss 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury at the end of October, is now expected to be...