Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin out for the remainder of the season with lower-body injury

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

The New York Rangers announced Saturday that starting goalie Igor Shesterkin will be out for the remainder of the season with a lower-body injury, a major blow for a team that has relied heavily on the 30-year-old’s play in net. The injury was sustained during Friday’s game, a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals.

According to the Rangers’ announcement, Shesterkin injured his right leg at 8:20 of the second period after his skate jammed into the goalpost while he was scrambling back into his net. He then fell in the crease, and his leg bent “awkwardly” under him, leaving him unable to put weight on the right leg.

Rangers defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson helped Shesterkin off the ice after the incident. Shesterkin had stopped 13 of 14 shots before exiting the game and Dylan Garand entered in relief, making 11 saves in the remainder of the contest.

Following Friday’s loss, Rangers captain J.T. Miller said the situation was difficult to watch unfold, noting, “It’s awful. He’s a pillar of this team. It stinks.” Miller added that the early timeline left the team uncertain about what comes next, but emphasized that the Rangers would need to “step up” and get the job done in Shesterkin’s absence, including for Garand.

In addition to the immediate impact on New York’s goaltending rotation, the injury changes the Rangers’ season outlook because Shesterkin is being ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. The Rangers are already dealing with other goaltending depth concerns, with backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo also sidelined for a lower-body injury; the team said Korpisalo will be out four weeks.

The Rangers’ relief plan centers on Dylan Garand, who was replaced into Friday’s game after Shesterkin’s departure. Garand was recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League on Oct. 1 after clearing waivers and being sent down on Sept. 28. In his first NHL shutout, he made 22 saves in a 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 2.

The Rangers announcement and accompanying season details place Garand’s current workload in context as New York prepares for the next stretch of games. Garand has appeared in five career NHL games, making four starts, and the Rangers report that he is 3-1-1 with a 1.31 goals-against average, a .954 save percentage and one shutout in those appearances.

Before the injury, Shesterkin had been one of the league’s top producers at the position. He was 3-1-0 in five starts this season at the time of his exit, with a 1.79 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. His early-season résumé also included scoring his first NHL goal on Oct. 1 in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, when he shot the puck down the ice into an empty net at 17:26 of the third period after Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled for an extra attacker.

Shesterkin’s status is especially consequential because he enters the injury as a recent Vezina Trophy winner. He won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2021-22 and is in his eighth season with the Rangers after being selected in the fourth round, No. 118 overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft. The Rangers report that his current contract is the second of an eight-year, $92 million deal signed Dec. 6, 2024, with an average annual value of $11.5 million that the league describes as the highest-paid goalie contract in NHL history.

Shesterkin previously missed time last season due to a lower-body injury. The Rangers say he sat out 13 games after sustaining that injury in the first period of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 5, and that he finished the season going 25-19-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and one shutout in 51 games.

With Shesterkin out for the rest of the season and Korpisalo already sidelined, New York’s goaltending responsibilities will rest primarily with Garand for the foreseeable future, affecting how the Rangers manage game preparation and defensive matchups. Rangers defenseman Adam Fox addressed the moment immediately after Friday’s game, saying, “Definitely not a good feeling for anyone seeing anyone on your team go down, especially a guy like that who’s kind of the pillar on the back end there,” while adding, “You know, we’re hoping for the best for him.”

The injury also carries immediate scheduling significance because the Rangers are set to play Vancouver. New York hosts the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET at MSG, with the broadcast listed as MSG and SNP.