Rangers' Artemi Panarin & Ryan Lindgren Injuries Trending Opposite Ways

The New York Rangers are facing mixed injury updates after Tuesday’s preseason win over the New York Islanders, with key forward Artemi Panarin and defenseman Ryan Lindgren both leaving the game and not returning.

For star winger Panarin, the news is much more optimistic than for Lindgren.

Panarin, who led the Rangers with 120 points last season, is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Head coach Peter Laviolette expressed hope that Panarin will return for at least one more preseason game before the season opener on Oct. 9.

"Laviolette left it at day-to-day for Panarin, but when asked if he thinks his star forward will make it into any more preseason games, he said, 'I hope so,'" Vince Mercogliano of USA TODAY reported on Wednesday .

However, the outlook for Ryan Lindgren is far more concerning. The top-pair defenseman is expected to miss "at least a few weeks," per Mercogliano, citing a person "with knowledge of the situation. "

Lindgren sustained an upper-body injury in a fight with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield. The fight occurred after Mayfield delivered a hard hit on Rangers center Filip Chytil, who ended up returning to the game and scoring a goal.

Lindgren was left bloodied and did not return after the scrap.

Laviolette acknowledged Lindgren's importance to the team and the difficulty in replacing him for the first part and games of the season he's expected to miss.

"That's not good news," Laviolette said following Wednesday's practice. "He's an important piece to our team, our core, our leadership group.

"The way he plays the game on the ice, he’s an important part. Those pieces are hard to replace."

The Rangers will have to choose between their lower-level options to replace Lindgrend during the time he remains sidelined. Some of those alternative players fighting for a place in the roster and Rangers' lineup are Connor Mackey, Chad Ruhwedel, Ben Harpur and Victor Mancini.

Related: Rangers' Artemi Panarin Suffers Potential Season-Altering Injury