Ryan Lindgren: The punching bag of the NHL? Looking back at the physical plays hurled at Rangers defenseman

By Ryan Gagne

Modified Dec 19, 2023 20:28 GMT

In case anyone missed it on Saturday night, Ryan Lindgren (New York Rangers) was boarded from behind by 60-goal scorer David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins), leading to the first game ejection in the winger's illustrious NHL career.

For those needing a refresher of this rivalry, on Nov. 3, 2022, Lindgren laid a solid body check on Pastrnak during a game at Madison Square Garden. Immediately after, Pasternak went to the penalty box for interference when he hit Lindgren shoulder to shoulder in the slot, but the Rangers defender had already passed the puck.

Interestingly, Boston and New York played two additional times after this game with no incidents to report between Pastrnak and Lindgren. Furthermore, the two teams had already met once this season on Nov. 25, 2023, with the Rangers skating away with a 7-4 victory without much trouble.

However, things boiled over on Saturday when Pastrnak reignited the friction between the two players with a great open-ice hit. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the Bruins' leading scorer, who crossed a line by boarding Ryan Lindgren in the second period, earning a major and game misconduct for his actions.

Now that blood has been drawn within the rivalry, it will be interesting to see how the two teams and players respond when they meet again on Mar. 21, 2024, in New York. Hopefully, by then, Lindgren won't be on the receiving end of so many bone-crunching hits.

It was a rough week for Rangers' Ryan Lindgren

On Tuesday, the Rangers hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the visitors scoring a 7-3 win. Besides all the discussions about Igor Shesterkin's subpar performance, the evening's most talked about moment was Jake McCabe's hit on Ryan Lindgren late in the third period.

Even though Toronto was up by a pair, 5-3, at this stage, McCabe didn't hold back on a clean shoulder-to-chest hit that knocked Ryan Lindgren for a loop. Despite the hit looking nasty on the replay, it was a simple play where a defender took a chance to hit the puck carrier upon entry into the zone.

Moreover, there is no apparent rivalry between the two players besides this incident, which led to three-time 30-goal scorer Mika Zibanejad dropping his gloves to defend his fallen teammate, who popped right up after taking the hit.

Meanwhile, the Rangers skated against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night in New York. Although the 29th-ranked Ducks were no match for the Rangers, who won 5-1, one of the more prominent talking points from the contest revolved around Lindgren getting laid out by another opponent.

After a breakout pass from his zone, Ryan Lindgren watched the play move up the ice when Brock McGinn drove him hard into the boards. Surprisingly, it was the second consecutive game that Lindgren found himself laid out by an opponent and would only be a preview of things to come.

Unfortunately, Lindgren had a rough week and received some of the hardest hits of the 2023-24 season. Despite just dishing out 435 hits during his 285-game career (equaling 1.52 a game), Lindgren is currently skating around with a target on his back, which is odd, considering he's got no known rivals in the league.

However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post believes he needs to be more aware of his surroundings or risk cutting his career short if these consistent body-jarring hits continue. Although it is a valid point, Lindgren is an active defenseman who isn't afraid to play the body and doesn't shy away from the dirty areas.

Hopefully, this was just a bad stretch of games for Ryan Lindgren, and he continues to stay healthy and avoid injuries for the remainder of the season. As a top-pairing defenseman playing alongside Adam Fox, he's got a lot of responsibility to help keep the Rangers atop the NHL standings.