The New York Rangers could be in a tough spot after star goaltender Igor Shesterkin exited Friday night’s game with what appeared to be a lower-body injury and needed to be helped off the ice.
The Rangers have been off to a hot start this season and came into Friday night’s game against the Washington Capitals leading the Eastern Conference.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, may be compensated. This content was created by a team that works independently from the room.
The 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner came into the night with a 3-1 record on the year along with a solid .926 save percentage and 1.75 goals against average.
New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin lays in the net after sustaining an apparent lower-body injury in the second period of Friday night’s game against the Washington Capitals. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
As if that wasn’t good enough, he also scored a goal back on Oct. 1.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE
But in the second period on Friday night, with the game tied at 1-1, Shesterkin found himself way out of position during a net-mouth scramble. He slid across the crease to the far post, but appeared to jam his right leg awkwardly against the post.
Shesterkin was clearly in a lot of pain and needed to be helped off the ice by his teammates. It looked like he was unable to put weight on his right leg.
It was confirmed later in the game that he would not return.
NHL TEAM AVOIDS NIGHTMARE SCENARIO AS COACH REVEALS LATEST ON STAR CAPTAIN AFTER TERRIFYING INJURY SCARE
THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!
Dylan Garand entered the game in relief, but had only four NHL games on his resume.
If you’re a hockey fan, you know that losing Shesterkin for any period of time is a big problem for the Blueshirts.
Rangers netminder gets some help off the ice after sustaining an apparent lower-body injury. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
If you’re not a hockey fan, just look at Rangers fans’ faces when Shesterkin went down.
The team will be hoping it’s not as bad as it looked, but it did start a discussion on social media: did the New York Knicks curse the rest of the city’s teams?
Because since the Knicks won an NBA title, injuries have befallen Yankees star Aaron Judge and Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.
Now, they could be adding Shesterkin to that list of key players who went down with injury.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE APP
Of course, they’ll take it one step at a time, and while Garand played pretty well after coming into the game, Boone Jenner was able to sneak one past him late in the second, and that proved to be the game-winner.
