There is no such thing as a player dipping toes into the water. You’re in or you’re out. Filip Chytil can’t run out of bounds to avoid contact.

The 16 minutes and 22 seconds Chytil played against Montreal were the second-most he’s played all season. And going into Monday night's game against the Devils, it is likely he would eclipse that number, given the fact he is playing in the role of No. 1 center, aligned between wingers Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere.

As concern grows about Chytil's future even without a long-term diagnosis, the Rangers might need to start thinking about filling his spot.

The Rangers returned to full strength in Saturday’s 4-3 win. Filip Chytil played for the first time since colliding with K’Andre Miller on Nov. 14.

Chytil suffered what the team called an upper-body injury after running into Miller in a game against San Jose last Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

Mollie Walker of the New York Post first reported the news on Tuesday, informing that a specialist has cleared Chytil of any concussion symptoms. Chytil, however, was forced to miss Tuesday's matchup, and his availability for Thursday’s game against the Flames is uncertain.

The clouds of uncertainty that have consistently hovered over Filip Chytil are now grayer than the Seattle sky the Rangers flew through on Saturday. And no, the Czech center was not aboard as he went through further evaluation in New York for the upper-body injury he sustained last game in a collision with K’Andre Miller along the half wall.

Greenberg: "If Chytil truly has another concussion he has to think seriously about ending it. He should listen to the medics. I know, as a parent, I'd be frantic if my kid played