Igor Shesterkin injury may keep him out a little longer for Rangers
Igor Shesterkin was one of many New York Rangers that came away from last Thursday’s gutsy 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes bruised and battered.
Unlike his teammates Adam Fox (lower-body, LTIR) and Filip Chytil (upper-body, IR), the Blueshirts number one goalie was expected to miss little to no time. Saturday in Minnesota was backup Jonathan Quick’s scheduled start, so the Rangers called up Louis Domingue from the Hartford Wolf Pack to sit on the bench.
“He was banged up coming out of the game (against Carolina) so we made the decision to recall Louis,” Peter Laviolette revealed after the pregame skate. “We’re giving Shesty a break and some rest.”
After a 5-4 shootout loss to the Wild, the Rangers sent down not only Domingue, but also Jonny Brodzinski and Connor Mackey. This was done to maximize the accrual of cap space for the NHL Trade Deadline in March. However, when all three were recalled late yesterday, it immediately raised concerns that Shesterkin could miss his next start.
Update: Per Peter Laviolette, Igor Shesterkin is considered day-to-day
Related: Rangers felt the losses of Fox and Chytil in Minnesota
Igor Shesterkin still banged up
Shesterkin, 27, is 6-2-0 to begin the 2023-24 campaign. After a bit of a shaky start, he’s heated up boosting his save percentage to .913 and sporting a 2.36 goals against average.
Early in the second period of his last start versus the Hurricanes, Jesperi Kotkaniemi went down driving to the net and got his stick into Shesterkin’s groin. An area where the goaltender has suffered injuries in past seasons. Although Igor stayed down for some time and needed assistance from the medical staff, he finished the game.
“In the third period I felt really good,” Shesterkin said after stopping 26 shots. “It was nice to face a lot of shots finally.”
Based on his play and his comments, not dressing against the Wild seemed like no big deal. Of course, with the potential of missing Tuesday night’s game at home versus the Detroit Red Wings, that changes to a degree.
At this time and juncture of the season, the Blueshirts are wisely taking their time to let Shesterkin heal. There’s no need to rush him back with Quick playing so well. The team will be back on Monday with an 11 a.m. ET practice where more information on his status will become available.
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