What’s next for Rangers with Ryan Lindgren sidelined ‘few weeks’
By Jim Cerny,
24 days ago
James Guillory-Imagn Images James Guillory-Imagn Images
Ryan Lindgren will be out “at least a few weeks” with an upper-body injury, creating a sizeable hole on the defense corps for the New York Rangers.
Lindgren was hurt during a first-period fight with New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield in the Rangers’ 6-4 preseason win Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. It’s not known what exactly the injury is. But he left the ice immediately after the fight and did not return.
The 26-year-old defenseman engaged in the fight after Mayfield leveled Rangers center Filip Chytil with a massive open-ice hit less than six minutes into the first period. Lindgren received 17 minutes in penalties — two minutes for instigating, a five-minute major for fighting and a 10-minute misconduct.
“Nobody wants to lose players. It’s never OK,” coach Petter Laviolette said Wednesday. “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”
Chytil appeared injured on the play and was helped off the ice, favoring his left leg. However, the 25-year-old returned later in the first period and then scored a power-play goal in the third.
“I saw him coming, maybe I could’ve made a better move,” Chytil told reporters . “But I saw him coming, I was ready for the hit, but I was not ready for his knee coming into my leg. This is a hockey play. I didn’t think about anything at all on the ice, even in the locker room and then I saw everything’s better. So I went back and played.”
While thankful Chytil wasn’t injured, the Rangers weren’t so lucky with Lindgren. Nor with Artemi Panarin, who exited the game in the third period with a lower-body injury. He is day to day with the injury.
Rangers lose valuable defenseman Ryan Lindgren for ‘at least a few weeks’
The Rangers have two weeks until their regular-season opener in Pittsburgh against the Penguins on Oct. 9. In that time, they must figure out how to replace Lindgren on the top defense pairing with his longtime partner Adam Fox. And they’ll have to decide who slides into the starting six and who will be the extra defenseman.
Lindgren, who signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract this summer and can be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, is a tough and reliable defender, and a top penalty killer. He’s hard to replace because of his grit, his ability and willingness to block shots and to take out opposing forwards.
He blocked 103 shots last season and finished with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) in 76 games. Lindgren had three assists in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including two in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers.
“It’s training camp right now, so everybody’s an option,” Laviolette explained. “Like the regular season, when one guy goes down, even when it’s not training camp, players in Hartford are doing what they need to do to be the guy that gets their name mentioned.”
Let’s break down the Rangers options to replace Lindgren next to Fox and in the lineup.
Chad Ruhwedel
Expected to be the seventh defenseman this season, the 34-year-old has 364 games of NHL experience and helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2017. He’s a right-hand shot — Lindgren’s a lefty — but has played the left side before.
Ruhwedel could move into the bottom pairing, with Zac Jones moving up to the second pair and K’Andre Miller graduating to the No. 1 pair with Fox.
If this is how the Rangers go, they wouldn’t be replacing Lindgren in the lineup with a similar gritty defender. That’s not quite Ruhwedel’s game, though Miller surely could be an exciting fit with Fox. It would also be asking a lot for Jones, who’s coming off a three-point (two goals, one assist) game Tuesday against the Islanders but has never been an NHL regular before this season.
At practice Wednesday, Ruhwedel played the left side and paired with Braden Schneider.
If Ruhwedel makes the team as the extra defenseman, that leaves several options to jump into the lineup.
Connor Mackey
If the Rangers want a similar player to Lindgren, Mackey has a good chance to land a lineup spot. The 28-year-old is 6-foot-3, 204 pounds and rugged. He has 75 penalty minutes in 40 NHL games, and got into a rousing fight in his only game with the Rangers on Jan. 27 last season against the Ottawa Senators.
Mackey paired with Fox at practice Wednesday, but is considered a journeyman. Though on the top pair Wednesday, the left-hand shot could slot in any of the three pairs, or make the team as the extra d-man.
Ben Harpur
Just two seasons ago, Harpur was a regular on New York’s third defense pairing — that is until the trade deadline, when Niko Mikkola arrived and took his spot in the lineup. Last season was a lost one for the 29-year-old, who played seven AHL games with Hartford before having season-ending pectoral surgery.
If he makes the team, it’s likely on the third pair or as the seventh defenseman.
He looked rusty against the Islanders but will get a look here the rest of the preseason.
Victor Mancini
The 22-year-old is a rookie pro, likely ticketed to start at Hartford. Yet, he’s turned heads — first at rookie camp and then in the preseason opener, a 3-2 win against the Boston Bruins when he played 23+ minutes and had a goal and an assist.
Mancini is big (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) and can skate. He’s simply a very good two-way defenseman.
However, he’s right-hand shot. Could he play the left side? Or perhaps break camp as an extra until Lindgren is healthy? We’ll see. He was paired with the left-handed Jones on Wednesday.
Matthew Robertson
He’s a long shot, especially since a lower-body injury has sidelined Robertson day to day. But assuming the 2019 second-round pick can get into some games here in the preseason, he’ll get a look too.
It appears the 23-year-old’s game is coming along and he could be ready to contribute in the NHL finally in his fourth pro season.
He must get healthy first to join this conversation.
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