Lindgren gets rest ahead of Game 1
Gerard Gallant swatted away the line of questioning as soon as he sat down.
“No concern,” he said of Ryan Lindgren’s Game 1 availability against the Hurricanes. “Nothing, no concern. Give him the extra day.”
Lindgren wasn’t a participant at practice on Tuesday, sitting for what the Rangers deemed maintenance. After he sat for three games in the team’s first-round series against the Penguins with an injury, it’s likely a safe assumption that Lindgren is continuing to deal with the same ailment that kept him out. In the postseason, though, he will play through what he needs to play through.
And for the Rangers, that will make all the difference.
Familiarity is the calling card of this defensive corps. Lindgren and Adam Fox played the third-most time on ice of any pairing in the entire league this regular season at 1,137:36, per Natural Stat Trick. The leaders in that category? Jacob Trouba and K’Andre Miller.
So it is hardly a shock that last season’s Norris Trophy winner looked out of sorts with Justin Braun by his side. That is no knock on Braun, who did enough to stay in the lineup once Lindgren returned, but it will make a difference for the Rangers to play the second round with their top four intact.
“It’s huge,” Gallant said. “They played together for a long time, as you know. Lindgren, the way he battles and competes, they read off each other well.”
The Rangers’ coach said he didn’t see a difference in Lindgren’s game once he returned, and it’s hard to argue. Though presumably gritting his teeth through injury, Lindgren had no issues getting in front of shots and playing heavy minutes, notching nearly 25 minutes on the ice in Game 7 against the Penguins, with three blocks.
The advanced stats for the Fox-Lindgren pair left something to be desired in the first round, following the trend for the Rangers as a whole. In 72:46 together at five-on-five, the two had a 36.7 expected goals percentage with 19 high-danger chances against, per Natural Stat Trick. The upshot, though, is that 19 is five fewer highdanger chances than Braun and Fox gave up together in 30 fewer minutes.
That small sample, at least, supports the notion that Fox is a better player with his longtime partner. So, too, does the eye test, as Fox was plainly not himself when Lindgren wasn’t on the ice, playing a supporting role when the team spiraled out of control in Games 3 and 4.
Assuming the Rangers are indeed at full strength for the duration against Carolina, that issue should at least be ameliorated.