The New York Rangers made a pair of roster moves Tuesday, as they placed goaltender Igor Shesterkin on injured reserve and defenceman Adam Fox on long-term injured reserve.
Shesterkin departed the Rangers’ game against the Utah Mammoth on Monday midway through the opening period with an apparent leg injury and did not return.
Shesterkin’s leg bent awkwardly with his skate still on the ice as he attempted to avoid contact with Mammoth forward JJ Peterka, who was on the edge of the crease. Peterka made only slight contact, if any, with Shesterkin, who lay down in the net in pain while he was attended to by a trainer.
The 30-year-old face of the franchise was helped off the ice by the trainer and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and did not put any weight on his left leg. Veteran backup Jonathan Quick replaced Shesterkin, and the Rangers lost 3-2 in overtime.
Per TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston, the team will continue to evaluate the severity of the injury while Shesterkin is on IR.
Fox, 27, missed almost all of December with an upper-body injury. He returned to action on Dec. 31 after missing 14 games with the ailment, but was able to play just three games before he was placed back on LTIR with a reported lower-body injury following Monday’s loss to the Mammoth.
Fox, a Norris Trophy winner as a sophomore in the 2020-21 campaign, has four goals and 28 points in 30 games this season. In 461 career NHL games, the Jericho, NY native has 67 goals and 397 points.
The pair of lineup absences will add more difficulty to what has already been a trying season for the Rangers, as they enter play on Tuesday ranked second-worst in the Metropolitan Division at 20-18-6. They rank worst in the Eastern Conference in point percentage (.523).