Two weeks from Opening Night and the Rangers have lost a defenseman for the foreseeable future.
Ryan Lindgren is expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks with an upper-body injury, which he sustained in a fight with the Islanders’ Scott Mayfield Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The bout was initiated by Lindgren, who sought out retribution for Mayfield’s open-ice hit on Filip Chytil.
The Islanders defenseman, however, got the better of the tussle – landing a couple of upper-cuts on Lindgren at the end.
While Chytil returned to the game shortly after, Lindgren did not play for the remainder of the game.
Chytil was back on the ice for practice on Wednesday.
Additionally, Artemi Panarin is classified as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and did not skate on Wednesday.
The Rangers open the season on the road against the Penguins on Oct. 9.