Ryan Lindgren will miss a few weeks for the New York Rangers because of a lower-body injury.
The defenseman left a 5-2 win against the New York Islanders on Sunday at 15:39 of the second period after he fell awkwardly with Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau behind the Rangers' net.
The injury is not as bad as initally feared, and the Rangers expect Lindgren to make a full recovery.
The Rangers recalled defenseman Brandon Scanlin from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Monday. Chad Ruhwedel replaced Lindgren in the New York lineup in a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
“When you watch somebody leave the ice like that and they come back and they tell you it might be 2-3 weeks, that's some good news,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said Tuesday. “He's such a great player for us. It's tough, but we'll make sure he's healthy. We won't rush him back and make sure he's ready to go when he's ready to go."
Ruhwedel played 13:31 in his first game since he was traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 8 for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
"We've been waiting to get Ruhwedel in there; it hasn't presented itself,” Laviolette said. “He's been great, he's been working hard, and now he gets an opportunity because of the injury to Lindgren. To have that depth is really important, not just for now to cover yourself regular season, when you get into the playoffs you know exactly what happens with regard to personnel."
Lindgren has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) and is plus-19, which is second on New York behind Chris Kreider (plus-22).
The Rangers (45-20-4) are also without defenseman Jacob Trouba (lower body), who left a 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on March 4 and was projected to miss 2-3 weeks. They have a two-point lead on the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Metropolitan Division and are in a stretch of 20 games in 38 days that started March 9 and continues at the Boston Bruins on Thursday and home against the Panthers on Saturday.
Scanlin, 24, has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 57 games for Hartford this season.
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen and staff writer Jon Lane contributed to this report
