Simply two seasons in the past, Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox have been within the skates Braden Schneider and Zac Jones now discover themselves in: breaking into the NHL as rookies on the identical defensive pair.
Granted, Schneider and Jones have solely performed one recreation collectively up to now — within the Rangers’ shootout win over the Bruins on Tuesday — along with a handful extra with different defensive companions. However the younger blueliners have gotten off to an encouraging begin collectively.
“They have been excellent,” Lindgren mentioned Wednesday after follow. “Each of them have been simply so assured on the market. At all times looks like they make the correct performs. Me and Cunning had that after we have been rookies enjoying collectively, and I feel it’s key you’re simply constructing every recreation and making an attempt to get higher and higher. Clearly the NHL is a really robust league and you’re going to have robust nights, however you gotta ensure you bounce again. I assumed they’ve seemed actually good and assured. They appear like they feed off one another properly.”
Schneider and Jones have been on the ice for the Rangers’ solely purpose in regulation and, in 14:43 collectively, have been on the ice for seven pictures for and 4 towards, per NaturalStatTrick.
The duo have been on the identical pair once more in Wednesday’s follow (with veteran Patrik Nemeth and Libor Hajek skating on a fourth pair), indicating Schneider and Jones will get the sport Thursday towards the Pink Wings to proceed making their case to stay collectively, at the least in the meanwhile. Their first probability resulted in coach Gerard Gallant rewarding them a shift within the closing 5 minutes of regulation Tuesday to maintain a 1-1 tie intact.
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“They’re two good younger gamers,” Gallant mentioned. “We all the time speak about younger, however they present vitality, they present a variety of spunk on the market. All people makes errors, however they’ve performed actually stable, actual good hockey.”
Although Jones and Schneider’s expertise enjoying collectively earlier than Tuesday was restricted to their time in AHL Hartford this season, Lindgren and Fox had far more historical past collectively (enjoying within the USA Hockey Nationwide Crew Improvement Program) earlier than arriving on the Rangers’ blueline in 2019.
Nonetheless, Lindgren mentioned he and Fox had a lot to study on the fly whereas making the bounce to the NHL — keyed by sturdy communication, he mentioned — a course of that Jones and Schneider at the moment are enterprise.
Lindgren famous that he and Fox had older defensemen, equivalent to Marc Staal, Brady Skjei and Jacob Trouba to assist them with the transition. Only a few years later, they're making an attempt to pay it again.
“It's undoubtedly just a little loopy,” Lindgren mentioned. “We even heard Schneids say [Tuesday] earlier than the sport, he’s like, ‘I’m a late ’01.’ Being a ’98 start 12 months, you type of really feel older now, which is loopy.”
The Rangers began the season with Nemeth and both Jarred Tinordi or rookie Nils Lundkvist because the workforce’s third pair. Tinordi and Lundkvist are each at the moment with AHL Hartford whereas Nemeth missed his sixth straight recreation Tuesday for private causes, opening the door for Schneider and Jones to play collectively.
The 21-year-old Jones acquired 10 NHL video games below his belt final season earlier than enjoying his seventh recreation of this season Tuesday. The 20-year-old Schneider, in the meantime, performed simply his eleventh NHL recreation Tuesday. However he has made a powerful impression on Lindgren after the 2 performed collectively when Fox missed three video games earlier than the All-Star break.
“He’s very good, all the time looks like he makes the correct play,” Lindgren mentioned. “He performs with some chunk, too. He’s not afraid to be bodily. He joins the frenzy. He all the time looks like he will get open within the O-zone and creates possibilities. He’s acquired just a little little bit of all the pieces.”
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