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Oscar Lindberg Starting Rookie Campaign Off Right

By Diana Driscoll

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Oscar Lindberg finally cracked the New York Rangers’ roster and is making the most of his time there—so far. He became the first rookie in franchise history to record a goal in each of the first three games of the season and, in the Rangers’ Madison Square Garden debut, he put together a two-goal campaign. Four goals in three games; that’s exactly how a rookie wants to start a season.

It has been a long road for Lindberg, who has been with the Rangers organization since 2011. In that time, he has only made it to the big club once, playing for Rick Nash who was out with a fever in 2014-15 season.

This season, it was do or die for Lindberg. He had to make the Rangers’ roster out of camp otherwise he would have been put on waivers—which would have meant that some other team would have picked him up. This was his last shot to don a New York Rangers jersey.

As it was, Lindberg put together an impressive training camp, winning the 2015 Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award, an award selected by the media. And now, he has continued to have the hot hand.

"“I don’t think he’s going to continue on a 80-someodd-goal pace, but players go through these stretches,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “I need him to be very effective at both ends. But he’s got some really timely, important goals.” — Brett Cyrgalis, New York Post"

Do I think that Lindberg is going to pull something like that off? No, I agree with Vigneault. But, if he continues to play the way he has in training camp and throughout the first three games, he can put together a decent season.

He has been very impressive so far. It isn’t just the four goals, but the way he has played the game. He is showing off his hockey sense by following up on plays and getting to the net.

Lindberg has a lot more work to do. Let’s be realistic, he is a rookie and will make mistakes as he navigates his way through the NHL. Let me remind you that Lindberg has now played in four NHL games throughout his career. That’s a small sample pool to base any expectations on.

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He is a very good hockey player; having shown his offensive prowess and abilities in the AHL. But the NHL is a completely different beast. And while many opponents may have not seen him as a major threat that will change if he continues to find the back of the net.

Lindberg isn’t going to be the Rangers’ key to success, but he has the power to make a real impact. It’s a long season, but what we’ve seen so far from Lindberg has been promising.

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