Filip Chytil’s strong game ended with questionable Peter Laviolette decision in Rangers’ loss

SUNRISE, Fla. — Filip Chytil was a standout in the Rangers’ 5-3 loss to the Panthers on Monday night at Amerank Bank Arena, scoring the team’s first goal on the way to briefly tying the game up in the second period.

Flying up the ice and carrying the puck into the offensive zone, the Czech center dished it off before crashing the net and putting back a rebound to cut Florida’s lead in half, 2-1, at the 14:25 mark.

Chytil finished with a game-high seven shots on goal.

He had jump, was dynamic and hard on pucks.

And yet, head coach Peter Laviolette opted to have Mika Zibanejad on the ice instead of Chytil for the six-on-four power play while vying to tie the game with an empty net in the final moments of regulation.

“There’s a group that we work on things and we go over things, there’s a group that’s been together,” Laviolette said when asked if there was thought to have Chytil out there in the end given his strong game. “So, I mean, he played well. He was supposed to be going out on the second unit and he just never got the change with the person he was changing for.”