Rangers shuffle top-nine ahead of game against Capitals

The Rangers played against the Capitals on Tuesday night, but were without Ryan Lindgren for the eighth consecutive game.

Lindgren had sustained an injury during their last game against the Capitals on February 25, following a hit from T.J. Oshie.

Although Lindgren had joined the team on their recent road trip and participated in morning skates and practice, he did not skate with the team on Tuesday morning and instead did off-ice conditioning.

This could indicate that Lindgren’s recovery from his apparent left shoulder injury had suffered a setback.

During a recent practice in Buffalo, Lindgren had mentioned that he was getting better each day, but the injury was taking longer to heal than it did earlier in the season.

Despite traveling with the team, the Rangers may give Lindgren ample time to return to 100 percent, as they do not want to rush him back.

Head coach Gerard Gallant had stated that Lindgren was still day-to-day and that they were not going to rush him at this point.

There is a possibility that the Rangers could place Lindgren on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), which would be retroactive to February 25, as per LTIR rules, players have to be sidelined for at least 24 days.

If they do this, Lindgren would not be able to return until the game against the Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on the following Tuesday.

With Lindgren on LTIR, the Rangers would be able to exceed the salary cap, which would give them just under $3 million in their LTIR pool to call someone up from AHL Hartford.

Niko Mikkola had stepped in for Lindgren on the left side of Adam Fox, and he had been solid in Lindgren’s absence.

Gallant had praised Mikkola, stating that he was a good hockey player, albeit a different type of player than Lindgren.

Aside from the fourth line of Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow, and Tyler Motte, the Rangers’ top-nine shuffled again ahead of Tuesday’s game.

Artemi Panarin was bumped to the left of Mika Zibanejad, while Vladimir Tarasenko remained on the Swedish center’s right. Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, and Patrick Kane made up the second unit above the Kid Line, featuring Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko.

»Rangers shuffle top-nine ahead of game against Capitals«