Rangers lose Ryan Lindgren in crushing injury blow before start of the season
NY Post
The Rangers may have to start the season on Oct. 9 without one of their top-four defensemen.
Ryan Lindgren is expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks with an upper-body injury, which he presumably sustained in a retaliatory fight with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield in Tuesday night’s exhibition game at Madison Square Garden.
The bout was initiated by Lindgren, who sought retribution for Mayfield’s open-ice hit on Filip Chytil. Mayfield, however, got the better of the tussle — landing a couple uppercuts on Lindgren at the end.
While Chytil returned to the game shortly, Lindgren’s night was over in the first period of the 6-4 victory.
“It’s always tough losing players,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after practice on Wednesday at MSG Training Center. “A guy like Lindy is tough. He plays the game really hard for us, really valuable piece.”
The problem with having a heart-and-soul defenseman play the all-or-nothing way that Lindgren does is self-explanatory.
Every one of his 23 catches is preserved in his stat log. The same with his 271 receiving yards and his three touchdowns. His 37 targets reflect that he is not one of the focal points — he is the focal point. The leaps into the air to snare the ball and quick pivots and spins to wriggle past defenders are newly minted memories for fans who went from wait-and-see to here-and-now when it comes to anointing this youngster as legit.