Just two seasons ago, Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox were in the skates Braden Schneider and Zac Jones now find themselves in: breaking into the NHL as rookies on the same defensive pair.

Granted, Schneider and Jones have only played one game together so far — in the Rangers’ shootout win over the Bruins on Tuesday — in addition to a handful more with other defensive partners. But the young blueliners have gotten off to an encouraging start together.

“They were outstanding,” Lindgren said Wednesday after practice. “Both of them were just so confident out there. Always seems like they make the right plays. Me and Foxy had that when we were rookies playing together, and I think it’s key you’re just building each game and trying to get better and better. Obviously the NHL is a very tough league and you know you’re going to have tough nights, but you gotta make sure you bounce back. I thought they’ve looked really good and confident. They seem like they feed off each other well.”

Schneider and Jones were on the ice for the Rangers’ only goal in regulation and, in 14:43 together, were on the ice for seven shots for and four against, per NaturalStatTrick.

The duo were on the same pair again in Wednesday’s practice (with veteran Patrik Nemeth and Libor Hajek skating on a fourth pair), indicating Schneider and Jones will get the game Thursday against the Red Wings to continue making their case to stick together, at least for the time being. Their first chance resulted in coach Gerard Gallant rewarding them a shift in the final five minutes of regulation Tuesday to keep a 1-1 tie intact.

“They’re two good young players,” Gallant said. “We always talk about young, but they show energy, they show a lot of spunk out there. Everybody makes mistakes, but they’ve played really solid, real good hockey.”

Though Jones and Schneider’s experience playing together before Tuesday was limited to their time in AHL Hartford this season, Lindgren and Fox had much more history together (playing in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program) before arriving on the Rangers’ blueline in 2019.

Still, Lindgren said he and Fox had plenty to learn on the fly while making the jump to the NHL — keyed by strong communication, he said — a process that Jones and Schneider are now undertaking.

Lindgren noted that he and Fox had older defensemen, such as Marc Staal, Brady Skjei and Jacob Trouba to help them with the transition. Just a few years later, they are trying to pay it back.

“It is definitely a little crazy,” Lindgren said. “We even heard Schneids say [Tuesday] before the game, he’s like, ‘I’m a late ’01.’ Being a ’98 birth year, you kind of feel older now, which is crazy.”

The Rangers started the season with Nemeth and either Jarred Tinordi or rookie Nils Lundkvist as the team’s third pair. Tinordi and Lundkvist are both currently with AHL Hartford while Nemeth missed his sixth straight game Tuesday for personal reasons, opening the door for Schneider and Jones to play together.

The 21-year-old Jones got 10 NHL games under his belt last season before playing his seventh game of this season Tuesday. The 20-year-old Schneider, meanwhile, played just his 11th NHL game Tuesday. But he has made a strong impression on Lindgren after the two played together when Fox missed three games before the All-Star break.

“He’s very smart, always seems like he makes the right play,” Lindgren said. “He plays with some bite, too. He’s not afraid to be physical. He joins the rush. He always seems like he gets open in the O-zone and creates chances. He’s got a little bit of everything.”