Kraken Lose Lindgren to Injured Reserve for Four to Six Weeks

The Seattle Kraken will be without veteran defenseman Ryan Lindgren for the next month and a half. The club placed the 28-year-old on injured reserve Thursday, with the team confirming he will be sidelined four to six weeks with an upper-body injury. Lindgren lasted only 3:57 in Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, leaving early in the first period after taking a hit from behind from Golden Knights forward Marc Gatcomb. He did not return to the game. The shutdown defenseman is in the second year of a four-year, $18 million contract and has yet to record a point through four games this season, though he carries a plus-3 rating. Across his 485-game NHL career with the New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Seattle, Lindgren has posted 111 points on 16 goals and 95 assists with a plus-100 rating, earning a reputation as one of the league's steadier stay-at-home blueliners. The injury is poorly timed for Seattle. The Kraken sit 2-2-0 in the early season and open a five-game road trip on Friday against the Detroit Red Wings, meaning they will have to get by without one of their most reliable defensive presences for the foreseeable future.