For the last few seasons, the New York Rangers have had trouble finding a trustworthy third defense pair. This season, they have turned to young blueliners Braden Schneider and Zac Jones but both have struggled. Adding to their problems is Ryan Lindgren after he missed the team’s 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 6 with an upper-body injury. They need to make some adjustments or they will be forced to call up or trade for another defenseman.
Lindgren’s Importance for the Rangers
During the 2017-18 season, the Rangers acquired Lindgren in the trade that sent Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins. He quickly became a very strong defensive defenseman with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) and made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season.
Lindgren improved his skating during the offseason in 2019 and established himself in the NHL with the Rangers the following season. His physical style complemented Adam Fox, who developed into a star and the two proved to be the team’s best defense pair even though they were both rookies.
Though Lindgren does not provide much offense, he chipped in with 14 points in 2019-20, 16 points in 2020-21, 15 points last season, and has two points in 12 games this season. More importantly, he has played very well defensively, relying on his excellent positioning while making smart decisions with the puck.
Lindgren’s ability to step up on the penalty kill and his strong defensive play against the opposing team’s top players makes him a very important player. It’s not clear how much time he will miss, but the Rangers have certainly struggled without him in both their loss to the Red Wings and their 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Nov. 3 (he left that game in the first period).
Rangers’ Lack of Depth on Defense
The Rangers’ third defense pair has been a weakness in the last few seasons. In 2021, general manager Chris Drury signed Patrik Nemeth to a three-year contract in an attempt to address that need. However, the veteran blueliner struggled and the Rangers traded him along with a second-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes this past offseason.
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Instead of relying on veterans, the team decided to turn to young blueliners Schneider and Jones but they have made some costly mistakes in New York’s first 13 games. Schneider played well as a 20-year-old last season and he had two goals and nine assists in 43 games. He has not played as well so far this season and has gotten caught out of position a few times while producing just one point in 13 games.
Jones has one goal and one assist in 10 games, and like Schneider, he has gotten caught out of position a few times. He has also made a couple of sloppy turnovers which have led to goals. The Rangers moved him up to their second defense pair against the Red Wings with Lindgren injured, but he failed to clear a rebound which led to a goal for Detroit, and ended up getting benched in the third period.
The Rangers also had to insert Libor Hajek into the lineup with Lindgren out. The 24-year-year blueliner has never established himself in the NHL but has stuck around with the team as a seventh defenseman. Though he never produced much offensively he showed promise defensively during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. However, he took a step backward last season, struggling at both ends of the ice. This season he has played four games and has avoided making any big mistakes, but it is not ideal for him to be used in a top-four role as he was late in the game against the Red Wings.
For the Rangers Moving Forward
Though the Rangers clearly miss Lindgren, they need to find a way to defend better without him. They need to get better play from their third defense pair, their veteran captain Jacob Trouba needs to step up, and they need to avoid the sloppy turnovers that burned them against the Red Wings. They will have to play much better defensively to reach their potential this season.
