Freddie Claesson to miss 2-3 weeks for Rangers with shoulder injury
Rangers defenseman Fredrik Claesson shoots the puck against the San Jose Sharks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Defenseman Freddie Claesson, whose shoulder injury opened the door for the Rangers to call up 20-year-old Ryan Lindgren, will miss 2-3 weeks, according to coach David Quinn.
“The good news is we’ve got the break coming up, there’s a chance he’ll be available once we get back from the break,’’ Quinn said of the week off beginning on Monday. Claesson was injured in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Islanders after he was hit by the Isles’ Matt Martin.
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Defenseman Freddie Claesson, whose shoulder injury opened the door for the Rangers to call up 20-year-old Ryan Lindgren, will miss 2-3 weeks, according to coach David Quinn.
“The good news is we’ve got the break coming up, there’s a chance he’ll be available once we get back from the break,’’ Quinn said of the week off beginning on Monday. Claesson was injured in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Islanders after he was hit by the Isles’ Matt Martin.
Claesson was placed on injured reserve, which opened a roster spot for Lindgren, who had been playing for the Rangers’ farm team in Hartford.
Quinn also said that Neal Pionk also will be out of action with a lower-body injury that has been bothering him for a while and caused him to miss Saturday’s game. Pionk played in Sunday’s 7-5 loss at Columbus, when Claesson and Adam McQuaid both sat out with injuries.
“I give him a lot of credit for playing the other night,’’ Quinn said of Pionk. “I mean, he’s another guy who competes hard, but he’s been battling injury for a while, and I don’t know if we’ll see him again before the break.’’
The Rangers have a home game Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks and play Saturday night in Boston against the Bruins and then are off next week as the NHL All-Star Game takes place the following weekend in San Jose. The Rangers return to action Jan. 29 with a home game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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Kevin Hayes missed his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury, but participated in the morning skate, and was “much better,’’ according to Quinn. He is expected to practice Wednesday and potentially could return to the lineup for Thursday’s game. Hayes, who was the team’s second-leading scorer when he sat out his first game, Jan. 4 at Colorado, has 10 goals and 23 assists in 39 games… RW Jesper Fast did not take part in the morning skate, but was in the lineup against Carolina. Quinn said Fast got the morning off for “maintenance.’’… Henrik Lundqvist passed Jacques Plante for 12th place all time for NHL goaltenders with his 838th appearance … The Rangers celebrated Pride Night. Harrison Browne, a transgender athlete who played in the National Women’s Hockey League, dropped the ceremonial first puck.