Igor Shesterkin took a positive step forward in his rehab from an upper-body injury.
The star Rangers goalie returned to practice on Wednesday, his first since he presumably sustained the injury during the team’s 3-2 loss to the Penguins on Feb. 7.
Shesterkin did not practice on Tuesday during the team’s first session for players not participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
He practiced for a limited time on Wednesday and exited early, though head coach Peter Laviolette said afterward that was always the plan to ease him back in.
Shesterkin missed the Rangers’ final game before the break, a 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets, and was expected to be out 1-2 weeks.
So, the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off could mean he’ll only have to miss the one game due to the injury.
The Rangers notably return to action with a back-to-back this weekend, however.
They recalled Dylan Garand to back up Jonathan Quick for that win over the Blue Jackets before the break.
He replaced Shesterkin in one net (with Quick in the other) on Wednesday once his practice was over.
Shesterkin, who signed an eight-year, $92 million extension in December to make him the highest-paid goalie ever, has had an up-and-down season.
He owns a career-low .906 save percentage and career-high 2.87 goals against average.
Some of that can also be attributed to the defensive problems around him, but Shesterkin has certainly not been at his best, nor at the level to which Rangers have grown accustomed.
Brett Berard, Brennan Othmann, Jake Leschyshyn and Matthew Robertson were up from AHL Hartford and practiced with the Rangers on Wednesday — not on recall, but rather as replacement practice players, as is allowed under the rules for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Rangers have four players on the USA roster in the championship game against Canada on Thursday in Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller and Adam Fox.
Mika Zibanejad (Sweden) and Urho Vaakanainen (Finland) have been eliminated, but did not practice Wednesday, as was planned to give them a break after the newly formed tournament.
“I think it’s good to have them work here for a day, two days, whatever it might be,” Laviolette said of the four prospects after practice on Wednesday. “Just to come up and practice at this level, you get a chance to get eyes on them and they get a chance to continue to develop.
“For me, it was a good practice, it was spirited, it was fast, it was competitive, so those guys jump into that. I thought they looked great.”
Laviolette noticeably upped the intensity of Wednesday’s practice compared to Tuesday’s.
