McDonagh still playing like 'absolute warrior' for Lightning at 35

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Derek Stepan had seen Ryan McDonagh play in high school, and played against him, with his Shattuck-St. Mary's team facing McDonagh's Cretin-Derham Hall squad.

But it wasn't until early into Stepan's freshman season at the University of Wisconsin, McDonagh's sophomore year, when the forward got a sense of who the defenseman truly was.

The date and the game have been lost in the nearly 20 years since that 2008-09 season, but the hit still makes an impression.

Stepan is sure it was at Kohl Center, Wisconsin's home arena, and the opponent won the opening face-off. From there, it was pure McDonagh.

"[They] went D-to-D and Ryan McDonagh stepped up and hit this guy, who was not a small guy, and got him like level over the glass," Stepan recalled Monday. "And the guy got so high that his skate blade kind of caught 'Mac's' neck. He didn't cut him bad, just scraped him a little bit. But that's how high he got hit.

"It was seven seconds in … and I was like, 'OK, he's a big boy.'"

It was an introduction not only to the type of hockey Stepan would have to play, in college and later in the NHL, but also to the person who would become his teammate for seven seasons with the New York Rangers and the best man at his wedding.

"I was like, 'OK, I'm in the big club and Mac is the one that I'm going to follow into it,'" Stepan said.

Between that moment and this, there has been an entire NHL career -- Stepan retired after the 2022-23 season after playing 13 seasons -- but McDonagh still is going strong, still blocking shots, still hitting hard, still the reliable, steady, grownup any team would want to have on its defense. The kind of player, in fact, that the rest turn to in this very situation, with his Tampa Bay Lightning down 3-1 in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round against the Florida Panthers.

He has, after all, been here before.

In consecutive seasons, McDonagh and the Rangers overcame 3-1 deficits in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, against the Pittsburgh Penguins (2014) and Washington Capitals (2015).

It is now the Lightning's turn, an attempt they will begin in Game 5 at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SCRIPPS, ESPN2, TVAS2, SN360).

"He's a big leader in this locker room, especially in the tough moments, he's shining," defense partner Erik Cernak said. "So we can take a lot of good things for him. He's leading by example, like he's doing the right stuff on the ice all the time, motivating the team, and you can just tell he has so much experience and he's a big part of our team."

For McDonagh, this season has been a return. On July 3, 2022, he was traded by the Lightning -- where he had played for five seasons and won the Stanley Cup twice (2020, 2021) -- to the Nashville Predators. Then on May 21, 2024, Tampa Bay re-acquired McDonagh from the Predators.

He had 31 points (four goals, 27 assists) in 82 games this season, leading the NHL with a plus-43 rating while averaging 20:22 of ice time per game.

He also surpassed 2,000 blocked shots; he's seventh all-time with 2,011.

"He just does everything right," Stepan said. "A lot of people can say they do that, but where Ryan excels is he does everything right and he's able to do it at times when it's really difficult.

"His skill is he can grind with the best of them and hang in there in tough moments. Take out all the skillset that he has, the way he defends and the way he moves and being a true pro, but I think that's what makes Ryan special is he has this ability when tough times get hard, he is a guy that's going to drag guys in and lead the way."

It is exactly what the Lightning need now.

They dropped the first two games of the series at home but came back to win 5-1 in Game 3. They were on the road to tying the series in Game 4 on Monday when, in a span of 11 seconds during the third period, the Panthers scored twice and won 4-2 in stunning fashion.

Which makes it exactly the time the Lightning need a calm, steadying presence.

"Every time he goes on the ice, you know exactly what you're getting from him," former teammate Dan Girardi said. "Every time, he's the same, reliable, he's going to compete hard. Whether you're up or down he's going to play the same way. … He's got a lot of playoff pedigree and experience that he brings to the table, whether you're in the lead or you're down in a series."

It comes from having been there, from reaching the Stanley Cup Final three years in a row with Tampa Bay, winning twice, after making it there and losing with the Rangers to the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.

"I just think he's like the consummate professional," Girardi said. "He just does everything so well. Takes care of himself off the ice, battles in practice, shows up for every game.

"Absolute leader. Just an absolute warrior out there, pretty much does everything that you'd want. If you're building a team, you want to build around a [player] like that."

It's who he's been his entire career, with Girardi calling him "a very mature hockey player," as soon as he showed up in New York just out of college.

"I've always just grown up playing the position, wanting to be someone that's dependable, dependable for their teammates, for their coaches, someone that when you're out there on the ice your teammates can trust you to be in the right spot, do the right thing, help the team be effective," McDonagh said. "It's just kind of been in my nature since starting in that position."

It's why the Lightning wanted him back so badly.

"When Mac left you noticed it, and when he came back you noticed it," Lightning forward Brayden Point said. "He eats so many minutes for us. Just as a defenseman, he's so good at defending. His plus/minus is off the charts this year, blocked shots, makes the good first pass. He's just solid for us and it's been nice to have him back."

It has allowed the Lightning, as coach Jon Cooper said, to shift the minutes, to line up their defense in the proper positions, with the proper minutes, to take away some of the burden on Victor Hedman and spread it around. It has stabilized the Lightning.

"It's immeasurable what he's done for us," Cooper said.

Asked about the most impressive part of McDonagh's resume, Stepan said, "I think just being able to do it consistently for as long as he did with the miles, the way he has to play, to just continually do it. And at times people are [asking], like, can he do it again? And he just shows up and does it again."

For McDonagh, though, it's something else, something that changed when he went to Nashville.

Up until 2022-23, his first season with the Predators, he made the playoffs every single year of his career, a run of 12 straight seasons, and which is now 14 of 15. That, he believes, says something.

"I always loved that stat about [Nicklas] Lidstrom, that he made the playoffs every year of his career," McDonagh said. "I thought that was an awesome stat, an awesome tell on a player that puts himself in a position to have an opportunity to compete for the Cup and make the playoffs every year."

He is back there, back in the spot where he feels most comfortable, where he feels most able to help.

After this season, whenever it ends for the Lightning, McDonagh has another season left on his contract. But the 35-year-old remains at the top of his game, still steady, still contributing, in the playoffs once again.

"I don’t have a set number," McDonagh said of how much longer he will play. "I definitely feel like I've got a handful of good years left in me. There's a lot of dynamics when you have a family and three kids, but there's no doubt I feel like I've got a lot of miles left in me and can play at a level that can help teams win and compete at a high level."

NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report