With Washington on the power play, the 30-year-old goaltender appeared to injure his right leg at 8:20, when he appeared to have jammed his right skate into the right post after struggling to get back to his net. Shesterkin’s right leg appeared to bend awkwardly beneath him as he fell into the crease. After remaining on the ice and being attended to by Rangers head athletic trainer Andy Hosler, Shesterkin was helped off the ice by defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson without putting any weight on his right leg. Shesterkin also had to be helped down the tunnel to the locker room. “It’s definitely not a good feeling for anyone to see someone on your team go down, especially a guy like that who’s kind of a pillar on the back end,” New York defenseman Adam Fox said. “You know, (it sucks). Obviously we’re hoping for the best for him.” Shesterkin stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced before leaving the game and being replaced by Dylan Garand, who made 11 saves. “It’s horrible,” Rangers captain JT Miller said of Shesterkin’s injury. “He’s a pillar of this team. It sucks. Obviously, it’s (early). We don’t even know what’s going on, but seeing him leave the game is an opportunity for all of us, a shock for all of us. But at the same time, it means we have to reach out to a guy to try to get the job done, especially (Garand).” In four previous starts this season, Shesterkin went 3-1-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. He also scored his first NHL goal in a 5–1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 1. “He’s been a big part of our team for a long time,” Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. “He’s been giving us a chance to win every night and it’s hard to see him go down. Obviously I’m just hoping for the best.” The Rangers are already missing backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who suffers a lower-body injury week after week. Sullivan said there was no change in Korpisalo’s status. Garand was called up from Hartford of the American Hockey League on October 1 after clearing waivers and being waived on September 28. Garand made 22 saves for his first NHL shutout in a 2–0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on October 2. The 24-year-old is 3-1-1 with a 1.31 GAA, .954 save percentage and one shutout in five career NHL games (four starts). Shesterkin, who won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender in 2021-22, missed 13 games last season after suffering a lower-body injury in the first period of a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 5. He went 25-19-6 with a 2.50 GAA, .912 save percentage and one shutout in 51 games (all starts) last season. “He’s a big part of this team, for sure,” Sullivan said. “I’ve said it on many different occasions: He’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world, if not the best. He’s that good.”
