Rangers injury update: Braden Schneider season over; Matthew Robertson to make NHL debut
The day after the New York Rangers were officially eliminated from playoff contention, defenseman Braden Schneider was shut down for the final two games of the season because of an upper-body injury.
The 23-year-old defenseman reportedly has been playing through the injury for a while. He remained in the lineup as long as the Rangers were still alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race. However, a 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday brought an end to their quest for a fourth-straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
These are the first two games Schneider will miss this season. The durable defenseman had missed just one game in three seasons until now.
Like most of his teammates, Schneider had a tough time of it Saturday. He was caught flatfooted and couldn’t catch up to Jordan Staal on a Caroilina goal early in the third period that made it 5-1. Schneider was minus-3 against the Hurricanes; he was also on the ice for their first two goals in the first period when they raced to a 2-0 lead against the Rangers, who had an expected goals share of 36.4 percent with Schneider on the ice 5v5 Saturday, per Natural Stat Trick.
Schneider established NHL career highs across the board with six goals, 15 assists, 21 points and an average TOI of 17:52 this season. He led the Rangers with 145 blocked shots and was third (first among defensemen) with 146 hits.
Though he largely played on the third defense pairing, Schneider did play up in the lineup when needed and also proved adept on his off (left) side in his opportunities there.
It’s something for the Rangers to consider for next season. If they want to move Schneider into the top-four — where’s he’s blocked on the right side by Adam Fox and Will Borgen. The Rangers could shift him to the left side to play with one of those right-hand shot veterans.
Related: Mark Messier believes ‘spirit was missing’ for Rangers during this miserable season
Matthew Robertson to make NHL debut 6 years after being drafted by Rangers
With the Rangers eliminated from playoff contention, they recalled defenseman Matthew Robertson from Hartford of the American Hockey League. Coach Peter Laviolette stated at an optional practice Sunday that Robertson will make his NHL debut when the Rangers visit the Florida Panthers on Monday.
In complete contrast to Schneider, who was drafted a year after Robertson and has already played 286 NHL games, Robertson is developing slowly. He just completed his fourth minor-league season with Hartford and will finally get into an NHL game Monday.
The 24-year-old was selected in the second round (No. 49 overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He’s dealt with injuries and inconsistent play since, but established career highs with 24 assists and 25 points this season. The Edmonton native leads Hartford defensemen in those categories and is second overall on the team in assists behind forward Alex Belzile (37).
The Rangers didn’t need to recall Robertson because of Schneider’s injury. They were already scratching two defensemen — typically Zac Jones and Calvin de Haan — outside of their top six. But the Rangers want to get a look at Robertson in the NHL before deciding his future with the organization this summer.
Robertson is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He surprisingly received a qualifying offer last summer as an RFA, and took advantage with a strong season. Whether it’s enough to land him another contract with the organization is yet to be decided.
The Rangers are not flush with younger defenseman in the minors, so they may choose to retain Robertson. He, Brandon Scanlin (25) and Jackson Dorrington (21) are the only defensemen under the age of 28 right now with Hartford.
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