The New York Rangers played host to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden and Ryan Lindgren found himself on the receiving end of a lot of frustration from Rangers fans.
Despite some solid saves from Igor Shesterkin, the Blueshirts fell to the Hurricanes 4-0 on home ice — a fate bad enough without Lindgren almost injuring the Rangers starting goaltender. It's one thing to make a mistake on a play and lose where you are on the ice, but Lindgren has pushed opponents into Shesterkin multiple times this season, with the worst instance coming in their last game of 2024 against the Florida Panthers.
I wouldn't be surprised if the injury was picked up here, with Ryan Lindgren inexplicably pushing Bennett into his own goalie. #NYR pic.twitter.com/NPubhLievR
— Stat Boy Steven 🇳🇱🇮🇪 (@StatBoy_Steven) December 31, 2024
Shesterkin seemed to pick up an injury on the play that would keep him out of the Rangers lineup for multiple games. The 29-year-old goaltender is a franchise cornerstone in New York, currently on an 8-year, $92 million contract, and is a big part of the Rangers' plans moving forward. Suffice it it to say, it would be good for the Blueshirts if Shesterkin could stay off of the injured reserve list. Shesterkin would be far less likely to end up back on the IR if Ryan Lindgren could restrain himself from shoving players direclty into his own net.
On Tuesday night, Rangers fans felt the worst kind of deja vu when Lindgren shoved a speedy Andrei Svechnikov into Shesterkin once again.
Svechnikov barrels into Shesterkin, with a little help from Ryan Lindgren (once again). #NYR pic.twitter.com/4nhBfXiegb
— Snark Messier (@NYRFanatic) January 29, 2025
Shesterkin would get to his feet and finish out the game without incident, but Rangers fans were not happy with Lindgren. The defenseman is already a net minus on the season, but it rubs salt in the wound for him to be running his all-star goalie every couple of games.
If the last 5 minutes are an example of Ryan Lindgren wanting to stay a Ranger, I think he needs to get a new marketing supervisor.
— Greg Kaplan (@BlueshirtsBreak) January 29, 2025
Playoff Implications
The Rangers currently sit three points out of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and if they're going to make up that ground, Shesterkin is going to be an absolute necessity. The now veteran goaltender has played a massive role in the Blueshirts making two Eastern Conference Finals in the past three seasons and if the Rangers find themselves playing hockey in June again, it'll be thanks to Shesterkin again.
The Rangers have struggled at times this season in front of their own net, but moving forward Lindgren and the rest of the defense core should try everything they can to avoid crushing their starting goaltender and friend Shesterkin.