Ryan Lindgren creates sparks after Rangers had his back

Rangers rushed to Ryan Lindgren’s defense after Max Domi took a cheap shot at their defender at the end of Game 3, both verbally and off the ice.

On Tuesday night, Lindgren repaid his teammates in kind and provided a spark in the Blueshirts’ 4-1 win over Carolina that ended their second-round streak with two points.

Lindgren himself didn’t score in the win but narrowly missed two goals – earning primary assist credit for both.

First, his wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 15:42 of the first period caught Adam Fox’s stick on his way past Antti Raanta. Then, after a Lindgren shot dribbled past Raanta at 16:48 of the third, Mika Zibanejad followed up the crease to score. Still, Lindgren – who has scored just one goal this postseason – was the catalyst for both goals.

He finished the game with three hits and a plus-three mark and helped frustrate Carolina’s top line of Teuvo Teravainen, Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis for most of the night. And of course the two assists. It’s the kind of play the Rangers are expecting from Lindgren, who smashed coach Gerard Gallant’s door in to get back into the lineup after losing time against the Penguins in Round 1.

For the first time since his lower body injury, which he is still suffering, Lindgren said he was feeling good on Tuesday.

“You never want to sit outside,” he said. “Especially during playoff time. But you also have to be smart and take your time. Make sure you’re feeling good when you come out. You can play as well as you can.”

Over 20:01 Ice Time in Game 4, Lindgren was very well at his best and his impact on the game was evident from the jump.

“You can see that in the first game he gets back,” said Adam Fox, Lindgren’s partner. “Just fight, compete. You can see that when he starts attacking and shoots the puck. It will take that.

“We talked about it. He knows he’ll be able to do that and has the confidence to step in there. But I think just when you’re fighting and giving 100 percent – and even at the end of the last game – he’s not taking anything away from anyone. He’ll give it back right away. The stuff kind of trickles down to the team.”

The energy from the end of Game 3, despite 48 hours of explanations from both sides, seeped very strongly into the start of Game 4 as Jacob Trouba rolled over Domi and the two teams carried on until – and after – the final whistle.

It’s unclear exactly what Domi intended to do when he delivered the first punch to Lindgren.

Suffice it to say, however, that he probably didn’t see things that way.