TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Braden Schneider has earned more and more trust from his coaches in each season of his NHL career. This year, Mike Sullivan has played the New York Rangers defenseman in what the coach called “a pretty elevated role” for an average of 18 minutes, 27 seconds per game, up from 17:52 last season.

With No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox out multiple weeks with a left shoulder injury, Schneider will be tested even more. The void presents a chance for the 24-year-old. The Rangers have held him in high regard since drafting him with the No. 19 pick in 2020, but he has yet to fully break out in a top-four role.

“It’s an opportunity to step up and see if I can put the big-boy pants on and do a job for us,” Schneider said.

Schneider moved into Fox’s spot on the top pair at practice Monday, lining up alongside left-side defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. Sullivan said that the Rangers will have to replace Fox’s ice time by committee. Schneider, though, might see the biggest uptick in responsibility of any New York defenseman, set to play more minutes and face stiffer competition. He’s currently fifth among New York defensemen in quality of offensive opponent, according to Hockey Stat Cards, which uses colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s Net Rating model. Gavrikov, meanwhile, leads New York’s defensemen in the metric.

“I’ve got to expect to play fast with (Gavrikov), to play hard defense with him and to try to create in the o-zone with him when we can,” Schneider said. “I think if we can be a good stalwart pair and play fast and get pucks in our forwards’ hands, I think we can be effective.”

Carson Soucy and Will Borgen, who remain the team’s second pair, will also likely have to take on tougher matchups. The Matthew Robertson-Scott Morrow third pair has a combined 40 games of NHL experience, and Sullivan has shown some hesitance to rely on Morrow early this season.

The Rangers count on Schneider much more for his defense than his offense. He has a 1.0 defensive rating, per Hockey Stat Cards, but a minus-3.2 rating on offense. In 27 games, he has five points. Schneider knows he’s not Fox offensively — “obviously we’re not going to fill that hole that he brings,” he said — but he believes he can chip in offense in more simple ways.

“For me, offense is kind of a byproduct of good defense,” Schneider said. “I’ve just got to make sure I’m doing the job physically. I’m a physical leader on this team. If I can bring that and get the pucks in our forwards’ hands, that’s my main objective.”

He also noted the importance of getting pucks through to the net. Sullivan said he needs the Gavrikov-Schneider pair to defend hard and be efficient with the puck. He doesn’t want them to change the way they play and hunt for offense with Fox out.

“I think that’s the game that they play when they’re at their best,” Sullivan said.

“We’ll try to bring our ‘A’ game,” Gavrikov added. “It’s really important right now, especially in our situation. We’ve got to be productive. We’ve got to show our best.”

Rangers seeking ‘assertive play’ from Morrow

Rookie Scott Morrow will also be called upon to help fill the void left by Fox’s injury.

The 23-year-old is a 2021 second-round pick who was part of the package the Rangers acquired in the July 1 trade that sent former top-four staple K’Andre Miller to the Carolina Hurricanes. He was an AHL All-Star last season and has a reputation as an offensive defenseman dating back to his days at the University of Massachusetts, but he was cut toward the end of his first training camp with New York and clearly has work to do to earn Sullivan’s trust.

The coach was upfront about that when asked what he needs to see from Morrow.

“Assertive play,” Sullivan said. “Making decisions with conviction and not being in between. Eliminating hesitation from his game.”

Morrow acknowledged as much, noting “defensive reads” as the main area where he needs to show improvement.

“Every defenseman who’s young kind of screws up from time to time and maybe misplaces situations,” he said. “I mean, hockey’s a very fluid game. You never really encounter the exact same situation twice, so it’s just getting those reps in my own zone, playing the rush, and just trying to learn from the things I do well and don’t do well. I watch some of the great guys on our team and just continue to hammer away at that. Be a little bit more physical. I know that’s something that the whole team’s trying to harp on right now, so if I can bring some more of that, too, that’d be big.”

Sullivan limited Morrow to a modest average of 13:37 time on ice in his first four NHL appearances of the season, which have been scattered around 12 AHL games with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Morrow called the back-and-forth “a little challenging” but said he’s feeling more comfortable lately.

The Darien, Conn., native will remain in a sheltered role in Fox’s absence, at least to start. He spent Monday’s practice skating on the bottom pair alongside Robertson while quarterbacking the second power-play unit. The Rangers are understandably hesitant to thrust a player who’s had defensive growing pains into a spot that would require tougher matchups, but with Fox expected to miss multiple weeks, there’s a runway for Morrow to prove he’s ready to take on more.

There isn’t one player who can replace Fox, but no defenseman on the roster is as similar in terms of skill set. Morrow is a right-handed shooter who’s capable of transporting pucks and creating offense, which the Rangers sorely need. Now, it’s a matter of seizing the opportunity without overthinking it.

“You’ve got to take it defense-first, and add offense wherever you can,” he said. “In the past in Carolina, there were times where I tried to force the offense – especially if it’s the third period, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I might not get another shift unless I make a play here.’ Things like that. Foxy is on LTIR. If I get in a spot where I’m not worrying about being in the lineup or getting another shift, I think it’ll ease my mind a bit. I’ll be able to settle in and kind of just play the game and let the game come to me, instead of trying to force things.”

Sullivan trying five forwards on PP1

With Morrow not on the top power-play unit, Sullivan went with a five-forward arrangement in practice Monday: Artemi Panarin in Fox’s typical spot as quarterback with Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller and Will Cuylle in front of him. Asked why he didn’t go with a defenseman — likely Morrow, Gavrikov or Schneider — running the power play as most units do, Sullivan said, “We don’t think that’s the strength of their games to this point.”

The coach also used six forwards when New York tried to score at six-on-five late in the Tampa Bay game.

Panarin said playing the point is “not really new” for him. He and Fox sometimes switched spots as power plays unfolded, and he likes the position because it allows him to play with the puck more and use his vision.

“It’s probably the best position to see the ice because you can go on both sides,” he said. “On the ice, it shows everything.”

New York’s power play has been getting results lately. It is up to 12th in the NHL with a 21.3 percent conversion rate and is nine for its past 25 (36 percent success rate). Losing Fox will be a major adjustment, though the unit should remain dangerous with Panarin at the point.

Sullivan knows a five-forward power play comes with defensive risks. Opponents, starting with Dallas on Tuesday, could look to be opportunistic shorthanded against forwards not as comfortable defending while skating backwards.

“We’re going to see how it plays out,” Sullivan said. “Obviously, we need to have some conscience on the power play with five forwards, without a doubt. And that’s a conversation that we’ll have.”

“I have to play a little safer up top, but I also can’t be too conservative,” Panarin added. “It won’t work like that. The NHL isn’t an easy league. You have to take risks.”

Notes

• Though defensive pairings drew much of the attention at Monday’s practice, Sullivan’s quest to find the right combinations for his top-six forward group is ongoing. He’s rearranged several times in recent weeks, with Monday featuring another new look. Panarin joined Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière on the top line, while Miller shifted to Trocheck’s left wing. Jonny Brodzinski was elevated to play right wing next to those two, while Cuylle dropped down to the third line with Noah Laba and Brett Berard.

“We’re looking for chemistry,” Sullivan explained when asked Saturday about all the juggling. “We’re looking for traction, consistency of play, all of those things. When we get it, we’ll stay with it. We’ve moved people around. There’s been people injured also. That’s been part of it. J.T. was out for a period of time. Troch was out for a bunch of games. That changes the dynamic a lot. Ideally, we’d like to settle into some consistent combinations and then build. But we just haven’t found a comfort level at this point where we see the elements that I’m talking about.”

• The Rangers called up goaltender Dylan Garand to back up Igor Shesterkin when Jonathan Quick went down with a lower-body injury, but Sullivan didn’t use him in the team’s three games last week. Notably, the coach played Shesterkin in the Boston and Tampa Bay games on back-to-back days. The team sent Garand back to AHL Hartford after the Lightning game and brought up Spencer Martin, who was at practice Monday. Martin started the year with CSKA Moscow in the KHL, then signed a two-year deal with the Rangers midseason. He was still wearing his KHL mask at Monday’s practice.

• Adam Edström left practice early Monday with a lower-body injury. Sullivan didn’t have a further update after the skate. Taylor Raddysh, meanwhile, missed practice for personal reasons.

• With Edström considered day-to-day and Raddysh’s status uncertain, the Rangers recalled forward Brennan Othmann from Hartford on Monday evening. The 22-year-old appeared in one previous NHL game this season on Oct. 26 against the Calgary Flames, but a couple defensive miscues resulted in a quick hook and eventual reassignment to the AHL.

New York has been actively listening to trade offers for the 2021 first-round pick, but his value has taken a hit based on a turbulent start to the season. Othmann has posted seven points with a minus-five rating through 15 games with Hartford, with his first goal coming in Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds.