The Rangers have watched Ryan Lindgren shake off various falls and collisions throughout his six years in the NHL.
But the early impressions of Lindgren’s tangled crash into the boards with the Islanders’ Jean-Gabriel Pageau on Sunday were more grim than usual.
So much so that his projection to miss only a few weeks instead of the remainder of the season came as a bit of a shock and was a serious relief.
Zac Jones has become a blue-line regular as the Rangers battle injuries to their defensive corps. NHLI via Getty Images “It was listed as a few weeks, so that’s a good thing,” head coach Peter Laviolette said before the Rangers took on the Jets at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. “When you watch somebody leave the ice like that, then you come back and they tell you it might be two or three weeks, that’s some good news. He’s such a great player for us, so it’s tough. But we’ll make sure he’s healthy. We won’t rush him back.”
This is the second blow to the Rangers blue line after president and general manager Chris Drury announced after the trade deadline on March 8 that captain Jacob Trouba would miss 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury.
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Trouba is roughly a week-and-a-half into his recovery timeline and has resumed skating on his own, according to Laviolette.
There is still no definitive timetable for Trouba’s return, but Laviolette said he expects the 30-year-old defenseman to follow a normal reintegration into the team in a non-contact jersey eventually.
Despite the Rangers’ acquisition of veteran defenseman Chad Ruhwedel before the deadline, Laviolette inserted Zac Jones into the lineup when Trouba went down.
Jones has rewarded Laviolette’s loyalty with a string of strong games, but there has been an expectation that the Rangers would want to get a look at Ruhwedel eventually.
Erik Gustafsson has found himself playing alongside Adam Fox amid the Rangers’ defensive shifts. Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports Without Lindgren, Ruhwedel was able to make his Rangers debut Tuesday against Winnipeg, which came 11 days after the Penguins traded him to New York in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
“It’s been good, I mean, we’ve been waiting to get Ruhwedel in there,” Laviolette said. “It just hasn’t presented itself. He’s been great, he’s been working hard and now he gets an opportunity because of an injury to Lindgren. We’re excited to see him play. I’m sure he’s excited to play a game for us at Madison Square Garden.
“But to have that depth I think is really important. Not just for now to cover yourself in the regular season, but when we get into the playoffs you know exactly what happens with regard to personnel.”
The K’Andre Miller-Braden Schneider pairing that was forged as a result of Trouba’s absence remained intact for the seventh game in a row.
Erik Gustafsson then replaced Lindgren on the left side of Adam Fox, while Ruhwedel skated next to Jones on the third pair.
Playing without two of their top four and two of their most physical players will be a challenge for the Rangers’ defensive corps, but one that they could pay dividends in the long run.
Should everything go according to plan, getting Lindgren and Trouba back down the stretch will be a massive boost.
“It’s great for [Ruhwedel], it happened on the back end naturally here now,” Laviolette said. “We’re down the stretch, he gets inserted in the game, we can make sure that Jacob and Lindy are fully healed and ready to go.”
