Igor Shesterkin’s start to the season had been sublime. On Friday night against the Capitals, things suddenly took a scary turn.
The Rangers star goaltender injured himself with 11:40 remaining in the second period while the Capitals were on a power play.
Shesterkin jammed his right leg hard into the goalpost while trying to recover after aggressively challenging a Pierre-Luc Dubois chance in the slot. He immediately fell to the ice in pain and reacted as if something was seriously wrong.
The Rangers goaltender remained down on the ice for several minutes before needing help back to New York’s dressing room, unable to put any weight on his injured leg.
The Rangers later announced early in the third period that Shesterkin would not return.
Backup goaltender Dylan Garand replaced Shesterkin in net. The Russian netminder, who recently scored a goalie goal, ended the night with 13 saves on 14 shots in 28:20 of ice time.
Shesterkin entered Friday 3-1-0 with a .926 save percentage and roughly a 1.75 goals-against average, allowing two or fewer goals in each of his first four starts. He was also named the NHL’s First Star of the opening week after scoring a goalie goal against Tampa Bay.
