Braden Schneider of the New York Rangers during the third...

Braden Schneider of the New York Rangers during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac

The Rangers have improved significantly since general manager Chris Drury went to work at the trade deadline a month ago.  The players he acquired helped the Blueshirts go 10-3-1 entering Thursday's game against the rival Islanders at UBS Arena.

Forwards Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano have become mainstays on the top two lines, and Tyler Motte was a dynamo on the fourth line and solid on the penalty-kill before he was injured last week.

One of those additions, though, defenseman Justin Braun, hasn’t had as big of an impact. 

Braun came to the Rangers from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2023 draft. He has so far been used as a seventh defenseman, mostly because 20-year-old rookie Braden Schneider hasn’t been fazed by the addition of veteran competition for minutes.

Braun, 35, and Schneider are both righthanded, and since Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba hold down the top two righthanded spots on defense, Braun would have to beat out Schneider in order to claim a regular spot. Either that, or shift to the left side and beat out Patrik Nemeth.

Coach Gerard Gallant has rotated Braun, Schneider and Nemeth on the third defensive pair as the Rangers try to settle on a lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs. But of the three options for the third pair, Schneider seems to have emerged as the first choice.

Braun and Schneider were in the lineup Thursday, the fifth time Braun has been at left defense while partnered with Schneider. In 15 games since the trade deadline, Schneider has played in 13, Nemeth in 10, and Braun seven, including Thursday.

“He's earned everything he's gotten from the day he got called up,’’ Gallant said of Schneider, who had two goals and seven assists with a plus-5 rating in 38 games entering Thursday. “The plan was, coming into training camp, we didn't see him on our hockey team right away. He was a young kid and we wanted to get some [AHL] games and experience, and he went down there and he played hard and he did all the right things. He’s come up here [in January] and done nothing but play well.’’

Schneider, a 6-2, 210-pounder who was the Rangers’ second first-round pick in 2020 (No. 19 overall), said he feels good about being able to hold onto his spot since the addition of Braun.

“Yeah, for sure,’’ he said after Wednesday’s practice. “I’ve just got to make sure that I'm out there doing my job, and doing what I can to help the team win. And yeah, it's awesome to keep getting opportunities and keep playing. But I can't take it for granted, because we have a ton of great players on our defense.’’

The Rangers had pitched three straight shutouts entering Thursday, and while the goaltending of Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev has had much to do with that, Schneider said the team has been playing better defensively of late, as well.

“I think we're playing a lot more responsibly,’’ he said. “You can tell we're tightening things up, and it makes the game so much, I don't want to say ‘easier,' but it's a lot of fun when you know your forwards are coming back and back pressuring. It makes our job a lot easier.’’

Four games remain in the regular season. Schneider said he is “excited’’ the playoffs will begin for the Rangers in a little more than a week.

“My main focus is just keep building my game, because I know — I haven't been in the situation in the playoffs before— but I've seen it, and it looks like it's ramped up, and the physicality is ramped up,’’ he said. “It's been a cool experience to learn and I'm excited for [the playoffs]. I can't wait to get in there.’’

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