New York Rangers key defenseman Ryan Lindgren missed Monday morning's practice, sources have reported.
Ryan Lindgren is out today for maintenance reasons #NYR
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) November 11, 2024
The news comes at a pivotal time for the Rangers (9-3-1), with Tuesday night's matchup against the Winnipeg Jets (14-1-0) rapidly approaching. So far for the 2024-25 campaign, Lindgren has played in eight of the 13 games so far due to a preseason jaw injury.
The injury was a result of the 26-year-old fighting New York Islander's Scott Mayfield, which caused him to miss the remainder of training camp and first few games of the regular season.
Ryan Lindgren took an upper cut at the end of the fight. Watch the ice, i'll zoom into it for yeah. #NYR (Lindgren (upper body) will not return tonight.) pic.twitter.com/g2lvhjsCQU
— David 🏒 (@DaveyUpper) September 25, 2024
Since returning to the ice, Lindgren has been wearing a full face shield and said he is working on adjusting his play while getting used to the equipment.
“I ended up getting surgery on it,” Lindgren previously said. “I’ve been skating for a while now, skating with the bubble obviously. Just kind of getting used to that. It feels good now.”
Lindgren has been with the Rangers since the 2018-29 campaign, in which he was acquired in a trade that sent forward Rick Nash to the Boston Bruins on Feb. 25, 2018.
It only took the Minnesota native two years before he was playing on the top four in New York as part of a young, skilled group of defensemen.
He tallied only one goal against Anaheim on Oct. 26.
In 2023-2024, Lindgren played 76 games with the Rangers and managed to log 17 points (14 goals and three goals).
While Lindgren was missing from practice, rookie defenseman Victor Mancini filled his spot:
Defensive Pairs at Monday's Practice
Mancini - Fox
Miller - Trouba
Jones - Schneider
While only 22-years-old, Mancini has already recorded four points during his first NHL season. Across nine games played, he has earned three assists and scored his first league goal while on the road at Detroit.
The Michigan native was the 159th selection in fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft and signed his professional contract with the Rangers in April of 2024.
Tuesday's Matchup
Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. EST on Nov. 12 between Winnipeg and the New York Rangers. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+
Lindgren absence from the ice on Monday could simply be due to maintenance, so there is still still potential he will be in the Rangers' lineup for Tuesday — but only time will tell.