There’s been a fair amount of chatter regarding the Rangers’ decision not to place Ryan Lindgren on long-term injured reserve following the left shoulder injury he sustained in Washington on Feb. 25, when he was railroaded into the wall by T.J. Oshie 8:11 into the first period.

If general manager Chris Drury had taken that step, even retroactively a couple of days later, the Blueshirts would have been able to recall a defenseman after K’Andre Miller earned a three-game suspension for spitting at LA’s Drew Doughty 16:37 into the first period at the Garden the following night.

In that event, the Rangers would not have had to play their past four games short a defenseman. That includes a Feb. 26 match against the Kings in which the team dressed Braden Schneider, but kept him on the bench throughout in order to protect against injury in advance of a Patrick Kane-related, cap-clearing, brief demotion to AHL Hartford.

Indeed, had Lindgren been placed on LTIR, the Rangers would not have had to play short at all following No. 88’s acquisition, as they did in Philadelphia and Boston, and at home against Ottawa when the NHL denied their petition for emergency relief.