Braden Schneider will be the first to admit that, yes, it was a lucky goal, but the way a sequence that started with a normal pass to the point and ended with him celebrating near the corner unfurled had captured everything.
With the Rangers trailing the Flyers on Jan. 23, Schneider, after collecting the puck, veered left, cut back after reaching the middle of the ice and eventually sent the puck toward the net from a tight angle — watching as it deflected off the stick of Philadelphia defenseman Egor Zamula and into the net.
In past seasons, Schneider said, he would’ve just rimmed the puck into the corner to extend the play.
He wouldn’t have attacked the middle of the ice and wouldn’t have taken the puck to the net.
The 23-year-old, in each of his first three seasons with the Blueshirts, would’ve never positioned himself to create the fortuitous bounce to begin with.
Instead, a moment like that encapsulated the growth of Schneider, who has remained a constant on the Rangers blue line in a season full of changes.
With a first-period goal against the Wild on Tuesday, he has set career highs in goals (six) and points (20) with seven regular-season games remaining.
Schneider didn’t shatter his previous marks of five and 19, respectively.
He didn’t double his output or completely reinvent his reputation of being a two-way defenseman.
But Schneider felt he has taken another “step in the right direction” amid a trying season while positioning himself for this to all happen again next year as part of the Rangers’ returning group for their blue line.
“This year has definitely taught me that you need to adapt,” Schneider told The Post after practice Friday. “Obviously, things didn’t go well for us like they did in the past, and you have to try to figure out where you can try to help and help your team and find those wins — whether it’s on the defensive side of things or joining the rush and creating things on the offensive side. So I think I’ve definitely had to try and add to my game.”
Schneider has never experienced fewer than 47 wins in a season — a mark the Rangers can’t reach now even if they win their remaining seven games.
He has never experienced a regular-season slate that ends with the Blueshirts collecting fewer than 107 points, an unreachable threshold even if they collect each of the 14 remaining points.
They traded Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren while bringing in Urho Vaakanainen and Will Borgen, sparking an upheaval and reshaping of Schneider’s unit that hasn’t happened to this degree since he signed an entry-level deal in March 2021.
But that’s life on a team going through stretches of consistent losing.
That’s life on a team looking for a spark. Earlier in the year, Schneider needed to skate on the left side of a pairing for the first time in the NHL, and he has paired with 12 different partners this season, according to Natural Stat Trick.
He figured out how to “pick your spots,” striking a balance between shutting down the middle of the ice to eliminate difficult plays for the Rangers’ goaltenders and making the jump to anticipate his own chances at the other end of the ice.
“It’s definitely been an up-and-down [season],” Schneider said, “and I feel like I’ve definitely learned the most from this season.”
He has watched areas of focus from the offseason — joining rushes and ensuring there are at least four skaters for them, finding the “harder-to-get” middle ice, testing if he can take someone one-on-one — translate into tangible strides during the campaign.
There was the overtime winner against the Wild last month, when Schneider tore toward the net and flipped a backhander past Filip Gustavsson.
The tally against the Flyers.
The one against Minnesota earlier this week, too.
“There’s been a few instances, for sure, where probably an older version of myself would elect to take an easy play or the safe play,” Schneider said.
With Schneider possessing another year on his deal before becoming a restricted free agent, he adds a layer of stability to the Rangers’ blue line for 2025-26.
Five of the six defensemen — with K’Andre Miller, a pending restricted free agent, the lone exception — who skated in their top three pairs Friday are all signed through at least next season.
Schneider might not get the first-pair minutes or the power-play time that others will, but his role quickly became indispensable for the Rangers.
And the resetting of career highs has started to become an annual event.
“It’s kind of been consistent,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “He’s a good two-way defenseman, and he works to play good defense and if he sees opportunities offensively, he tries to take them.”
