Braden Schneider's big hit, fight provided momentum shift for Rangers
Braden Schneider #45 of the Rangers skates away after hitting Jesper Boqvist #70 of the New Jersey Devils during the first period at the Prudential Center on April 05, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Believe it or not, Braden Schneider’s total beatdown of the Devils’ Yegor Sharangovich in the first period of the Rangers’ 3-1 win over the Devils in Newark was just his second hockey fight ever.
“I've only fought once before,’’ the 20-year-old rookie said after the Rangers’ practice Wednesday. “But I've always liked to take the body and to play hard. And I haven't really had an opportunity to jump up and hit someone like I did last game, so it felt good to get it out of the way.’’
The Rangers trailed 1-0 on an early goal by Sharangovich when Schneider dropped the Devils’ Jesper Boqvist in front of the Devils’ bench with a massive hit. Sharangovich – hardly known as a fighter – skated over to him and tried to grab him, but Schneider quickly dropped his gloves and unleashed a flurry of punches to the head of Sharangovich.
Sharangovich was assessed an instigator penalty, putting the Rangers on the power play, and Ryan Strome scored with the man advantage to tie the score at 1. The momentum shifted to the Rangers’ favor after that.
“I came off the bench and I saw a chance to make a hit (on Boqvist) and I caught the guy pretty good,’’ Schneider said of the incident. “Sharangovich came over and kind of wrapped his hands around my head and I kind of just saw black. And I kind of went fight or flight mode and just started throwing. So yeah, it was a wild experience. I don't remember much of it.’’
Schneider was back in the lineup Tuesday after having been a healthy scratch Sunday in the shootout loss to the Flyers. He said he’d been disappointed in his performance against the Islanders last Friday, a game in which he felt he hadn’t been aggressive enough.
“I kind of was on my heels a little bit more (in the Islander game),’’ he said. “So the main thing I kept telling myself is to make sure you're on your toes and do something. And whether that was just making good breakout passes (or) being hard on guys in the corners. I wasn't looking for a big hit like that (against Boqvist), but obviously that that also helps going forward and giving the team energy and giving me some confidence to keep playing my game.’’
The 6-2, 210-pound Schneider has been likened by his teammates to Jacob Trouba (6-3, 209). Both are righthanded shooters and both play a physical style. Chris Kreider said the teammates call Schneider “Baby Trouba.’’
Schneider said he’s often referred to as “T.J.,’’ for Trouba Junior. Schneider admitted he models his game after Trouba’s, having watched him play for Winnipeg while he was playing junior hockey in Brandon, Manitoba.
The original Trouba said he sees the similarity between himself and Schneider, and while he didn’t want to say he was flattered, he said it’s been “fun to watch him grow and evolve,’’ and see him grow more confident and comfortable in the locker room.
“And now he's walking around shirtless all the time,’’ Trouba said with a chuckle.
Notes & quotes: C Mika Zibanejad and D Ryan Lindgren had “maintenance’’ days and did not practice … Injured forwards Kaapo Kakko and Kevin Rooney skated before practice, coach Gerard Gallant said. Gallant said both are close, but insisted neither player has had any kind of setback. He acknowledged the original timetable for Kakko that he shared was 3-4 weeks, but said the injury was re-evaluated and the timetable changed. Kakko has not played since Jan. 21.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
