Braden Schneider giving Rangers the spark they crave

Tedium hadn’t quite set in yet, as it would through the final 40 minutes of this low-event Battle of the Hudson in Newark on Tuesday.

So it was just past the midway point of the first period with the Devils holding a 1-0 lead on Yegor Sharongovich’s beautiful breakaway goal off a Jacob Trouba boo-boo at 6:56 when Jesper Boqvist accepted a feed in his skates at his own line and started up the ice along the left side when he went … SPLAT.

Boqvist went SPLAT on a classic shoulder check to the chest delivered by Braden Schneider. Sharangovich decided to challenge Schneider in a more direct manner than the way that P.K. Subban jumped Oliver Wahlstrom on Sunday after the Islanders’ winger laid a legal hit on Jack Hughes.

Sharangovich was reflexively lauded by his coach, Lindy Ruff, the guy who was a thug coach in Buffalo, even after New Jersey’s No. 17 was pummeled to the ice by the rookie. Was lauded even though he was unable to return to the match, was lauded even though he picked up an instigator penalty that put the Rangers on the power play on which they would tie the score en route to a 3-1 triumph.

The Blueshirts, meanwhile, were lauding Schneider for triggering the sequence that soon enough would energize his teammates even if the team generated just four shots on net — count them, one, two, three, four over the final 40 minutes.

“To see a young guy step up like that and make a play like that, you feel the energy on the bench, for sure, it definitely set the tone,” said Chris Kreider, whose franchise record 25th power-play goal of the season and 47th overall would give the club a 2-1 lead late in the first period after Ryan Strome had tied it. “Guys were calling him, ‘Baby [Jacob] Trouba.’

“But that’s how he plays. He’s a hell of a kid, a joy to be around. He brings it every single day. He’s been a terrific addition to our team and he’s going to play for a very, very long time.”

The Rangers are using these final weeks as a testing ground as they grind toward their first playoff berth since 2017, the magic number for clinching reduced to four after the Islanders’ loss to Dallas. Head coach Gerard Gallant is trying out a few different combinations up front. On defense, where the Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox, Trouba-K’Andre Miller tandems are sacrosanct, there is a decision to be made about the third pair, where Schneider, Patrik Nemeth and the recently acquired Justin Braun are competing for spots.

The 20-year-old Schneider and the 35-year-old Braun are both righties while Nemeth shoots lefty. Braun, who has 100 games of playoff experience, had rarely played the left side throughout a 12-year career with San Jose and Philadelphia through which he was primarily paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brenden Dillion, Ivan Provorov or Travis Sanheim.

Braden Schneider raises his fist
Braden Schneider steps up for his first NHL fight.
Robert Sabo

But that’s where Braun lined up for this one when Schneider rejoined the lineup on his natural side after serving as a healthy scratch on Sunday for only the second time in 33 games since his promotion from the Wolf Pack on Jan. 11. The pair appeared solid in 12:59 of five-on-five work, with Braun sneaking one through from the left side for the final goal.

“I didn’t [focus] on them a lot, but they looked fine to me,” Gallant said. “When I watch it back I’ll look [more closely] but I thought they were solid and Schneids steps in there and is a big part of the win tonight, for sure. Everything went really well but I haven’t watched for the little details.”

The Rangers haven’t had a rookie defenseman show this much poise so soon since … well, that would be K’Andre Miller last year. Before that, you have to go all the way back to Fox a year earlier. These Baby Blueshirts are in a hurry, all right, even if they seem as if they have been here for a decade. That’s sure the impression Schneider creates.

“He’s been great all year, for a young kid he’s so professional. You never have to worry about him,” said Strome, whose return from a four-game absence was instrumental in the victory. “I skated with him a few times when he was scratched and the way he carries himself is way above his years.

“It’s good to see a young guy with that attitude. He’s going to have a really long career. Plays like tonight and the big hit, and just the way he plays, he’s mature beyond his years on and off the ice. He’s done a great job of staying ready and focused and being a big part of our dressing room. He likes to have fun and he’s really stepped into our group. He’s a great kid and we’re lucky to have him.”

source: nypost.com