There is little off the last eight weeks and 26 games, in which the Rangers went 12-12-2, to suggest that this team is a third-line center away from the Cup, unless, as the old joke goes, a 30-year-old Mark Messier is available to fill that role.

As the trade deadline rumor mill begins to turn, the Rangers had a positive update on what will ultimately dictate how the club approaches March 8. Filip Chytil is on his way back to New York, The Post confirmed with a league source, after the Czech center spent the past three weeks in his home country recovering from a suspected concussion.

The Rangers lost defenseman Ryan Lindgren to an undisclosed upper-body injury in the first period of their 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights.

Filip Chytil was down on the Garden ice Friday morning in a scary and troubling scene for the Rangers and their rehabbing center.The Rangers still have not officially termed the injury a concussion, but coach Peter Laviolette said after the game that the 24-year-old Chytil suffered a setback.

The Rangers havent enjoyed much good news during a lengthy slide, but Filip Chytil finally rejoined them on the ice Thursday in Tarrytown.

The Rangers announced Sunday that Filip Chytil will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a setback Friday morning in his attempt to return from a suspected concussion.

For the most part, a cone of silence has surrounded Filip Chytils status. This coming Thursday, it will be 11 weeks to the day since the Rangers center suffered a suspected concussion while bouncing off of Carolinas Jesper Fast in a mid-ice collision in which his head was never a point of contact.

There's plenty going on in Rangers land, including a brutal loss Tuesday in San Jose, Nick Bonino getting waived at Filip Chytil back at practice.

Calamity on the Garden ice Friday morning may have created some clarity in the front office for the Rangers as the March 8 trade deadline approaches.