Rangers face tough decision when Ryan Lindgren returns from injury

With Ryan Lindgren inching closer to a return from an upper-body injury, the New York Rangers face a tougher than expected decision when the 26-year-old defenseman is back in the lineup.

When the season started, it was a foregone conclusion than rookie Victor Mancini would return to Hartford of the American Hockey League when Lindgren was again healthy. But not so fast with that right now. Mancini has been that good, that at it’s at least a debate whether he or Zac Jones comes out of the lineup, and/or possible Chad Ruhwedel could be sent to the minors instead.

Mancini has done everything to prove that he belongs in the NHL with the Rangers. While he hasn’t found the score sheet yet, he fits in nicely on the third defense pair with Jones.

The 22-year-old defenseman appeared to score what would have been his first NHL goal against the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday, but it was disallowed because Matt Rempe was in the crease. Then on Monday, Mancini created a prime scoring chance for himself with a power rush on right wing, but was denied by Detroit Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon.

Through three games, Mancini is averaging 15:12 TOI and is tied for third on the Rangers with seven shots on goal and is fourth on the Rangers with five blocked shots. He’s big (6-foot-3, 229 pounds) and fast and, simply, has fit in as an NHL defenseman.

Victor Mancini has excelled in first 3 games with Rangers

So, who comes out of the lineup when Lindgren returns? At this point, it almost feels like a competition between Mancini and Jones for who gets to stay on the third pair. But it’d appear to be a longshot that Jones, who’s averaging 15:50 TOI and has one assist, is more experienced at the NHL level and has waited three years for his full-time shot, would get knocked out of the lineup.

Unfortunately for Mancini, he is the only defenseman who is waivers exempt, too. If Jones or Ruhwedel, who has been a healthy scratch for the first three games, were to be sent down, they would have to clear waivers. That’s a risk the Rangers are probably unwilling to take. This leaves Mancini as the likely option to come out of the lineup, despite how well he has played to this point, and be sent to Hartford.

Another issue that arises with Lindgren returning to the lineup will be the defense pairings. Lindgren has played just about his entire career with Adam Fox. However, K’Andre Miller has fit in very well on the top pair with Fox in Lindgren’s absence. The pair has only been on for one even-strength goal, which came in a 4-on-4 situation against the Utah Hockey Club.

Braden Schneider and Jacob Trouba have been very good together, and Trouba is off to a much better start than where he left off last season. He has four assists in three games as well as a plus-one rating. And Schneider appears comfortable on the left, his off side.

The likely scenario is that Lindgren reunites with Fox, we see a return of the Trouba-Miller pairing, and Schneider moves down to play with Jones. It is essentially last year’s defense pairings with Jones in the spot of Erik Gustafsson, who signed with the Red Wings on July 1.

One intriguing option for Laviolette would be keeping Miller with Fox, and experimenting with Lindgren on the second pair with either Schneider or Trouba. Leaving Miller and Fox together could blossom into an elite defense pairing, if they have a little more time to build some chemistry.

If Mancini returns to Hartford, he would likely play first-pair minutes, which would be more beneficial to his development than being a healthy scratch in New York. He will undoubtedly be the first call-up, should another defenseman go down with injury.

Lindgren is practicing in full, wearing a bubble face shield to protect his injury. Laviolette hasn’t committed to a specific date when he expects Lindgren to return, but it’s clear that time is coming soon.

That leaves Mancini at least another game or two or three to show what he can do at the NHL level and make the decision-making process more difficult.