Reactions to clean hits heavy handed

Former Bruins draft pick Ryan Lindgren, who has developed as a key cog on the Rangers’ blue line, was caught admiring his nifty drop pass ahead of Mika Zibanejad on a rush into the Toronto end Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Drop pass, look back over left shoulder, and kaboom!

Lindgren, along the boards about 15 feet into the zone, was summarily flattened by Jake McCabe’s clean, legal shoulder-to-chest check that looked a lot like some of the hammerings Blueshirt defenseman Jacob Trouba has dealt out over the years. Trouba’s monster hits often have him winding up with a two- or three-stride force. In McCabe’s case, Lindgren barreled straight into him, offering himself up as sacrificial prey.

To his credit, Lindgren popped right back up, ready to keep the rush alive, only to find the play whistled down and Zibanejad grappling with McCabe in a brief, near-comical tussle.

The play, if finished off with a goal, would have cut the Maple Leafs’ lead to 5-4 midway through the third period. Instead, the pointless scrap stopped the clock, McCabe and Zibanejad headed for the penalty box, and the Leafs rolled on to a 7-3 win.

Three thoughts:

■ Never admire your drop pass, especially while skating directly into a defenseman’s path.

■ Zibanejad, really? Per hockeyfights.com, the slick Swede never has had a fight in the NHL. The brief dustup with McCabe proved he’s been wise to ignore all forms of sweet science other than, say, a chocolatier’s concession stand.

■ Finally, what’s it going to take to roll back ridiculous overreactions to solid body checks? Hitting is legal and frankly, many nights we don’t see nearly enough of it. The best punch back is the kind Lindgren showed, acting as if it never happened. If you’re going to fight because of a bruised ego, maybe look for a different line of work.