Rangers' Ryan Lindgren was just being himself in scrap with Alex Killorn

Sure, one could argue that Ryan Lindgren should not have gone after Alex Killorn and wrestled with Anthony Cirelli in his first game back from a shoulder injury.

But that would not be Lindgren being Lindgren, so there the feisty defenseman was against the Lightning on Wednesday night, doing what he felt he had to do for a teammate.

In this case that teammate was Igor Shesterkin, who found himself sitting in the goal, a puck shot by Brandon Hagel in his lap, at which time Killorn got his stick into the goalie’s lower body.

Lindgren took exception, shoulder problem be darned.

“If I’m back out there, I want to play the game that I can play and if I see that I just want to jump in and do what I can,” he said. “Scrum at the net. I just kind of looked back and saw Shesty kind of fell backward. I didn’t really see what [Killorn] did, but what I did see I didn’t like, so I guess I just tried to jump in there and help him out.”

Lindgren, Killorn and Cirelli all got two-minute penalties, and Lindgren and Cirelli jawed at one another across the two penalty boxes. The NHL fined Killorn $5,000 on Thursday for slashing Shesterkin.

This was in the second period of a 6-3 Rangers victory over Tampa Bay at Madison Square Garden that signaled the Rangers do not intend to go through the motions in their final few regular-season games. (There were four fights in the game.)

It also a was chance to get Lindgren back into the mix before the playoffs start after he missed 17 of 18 games.

Getting Lindgren right became even more important when fellow defenseman Jacob Trouba left Wednesday’s game in the first period after crashing onto the ice face first.

Coach Gerard Gallant said Trouba’s status would be reevaluated on Thursday in advance of a game against the Blues in St. Louis.

Lindgren returned to his familiar spot alongside Adam Fox on the top defense pair and said that getting back into it now — as opposed to when the playoffs start — was crucial.

“I think it’s huge for me,” he said. “I was out a long time, missed a lot of games. So it’s good for me to kind of get the rust off a little bit. It would be tough just jumping back into Game 1 [of the playoffs].

“So it’s good to get these games and get back to where I want my game.”

Did he feel some rust?

“Yeah, a little bit,” he said. “It took maybe a little bit to get back into it, but I think that was a good game for me to come back to. It was competitive, a close game, and it was just fun to be back out there.”

Lindgren, 25, logged 18:48 of ice time, had two shots on goal and blocked two shots. He has seven goals and 56 assists in 253 NHL games, but he always makes his presence felt.

“He’s such a massive part of our team, what he brings on the ice, what he adds in the [locker] room,” Chris Kreider said. “He plays well beyond his years. He’s kind of a veteran presence at a young age. It’s massive to get him back.”

Gallant’s assessment of Lindgren’s return: “He looked good. Solid. Good, definitely.”

Assuming Trouba is ready for the playoffs, the Rangers will have multiple backliners who take no guff, something Lindgren demonstrated again on Wednesday.

“We’re a close-knit team; we’ve got each other’s back,” Lindgren said. “We see something we don’t like, we’re going to jump in there and help out.

“So it was good to see, and it was a good win and it shows that we can play that style and we don’t back down to anyone.”

Notes & quotes: Fox was also fined $5,000 by the league for slashing the Lightning's Corey Perry shortly before Killorn's stickwork on Shesterkin.

By Neil Best

neil.best@newsday.com@sportswatch

Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.