New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin will miss the remainder of the season due to a lower-body injury, the team announced Saturday.
The news comes one day after the 2021-22 Vezina Trophy winner sustained the injury during the second period of a 3-1 loss against the host Washington Capitals.
Also on Saturday, the Rangers announced goaltender Joonas Korpisalo will be sidelined for the next four weeks due to a lower-body injury.
Shesterkin appeared to awkwardly jam his right skate into the goalpost while sliding into position to make a save.
After stopping 13 of the 14 shots he saw, Shesterkin remained down on the ice for several minutes and had to be helped to the bench by a pair of teammates without putting any pressure on his right leg. Dylan Garand, who made 22 saves in New York’s 2-0 win at Detroit on Oct. 2, replaced Shesterkin.
“It’s awful,” Rangers captain J.T. Miller said after the game Friday. “He’s a pillar of this team. It stinks. Obviously, it’s (early). We don’t even know what’s going on, but to see him leave the game is a shot to all of us, a shock to all of us. But at the same time, it means we got to step up to a man to try to get the job done, especially (Garand).”
Shesterkin finishes his season with a 3-1-0 record, a 1.79 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage in five games (all starts). He is in the second season of an eight-year, $92 million contract.
Shesterkin, 30, is 190-108-28 with a 2.51 GAA and .917 save percentage in 330 career games (325 starts) with the Rangers.
The Rangers acquired Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins in July for forward prospect Kalle Vaisanen and a fourth-round draft pick in 2028.
Korpisalo, 32, was Boston’s No. 2 goaltender last season and went 14-9-6 with a 3.15 goals-against average and .894 save percentage in 29 starts.
In 11 NHL seasons, Korpisalo is 140-126-38 with a 3.06 GAA and eight shutouts since entering the league in 2015. He played 7 1/2 seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and also has played for the Los Angeles Kings and Ottawa Senators in addition to spending the last two seasons with Boston.
While with the Blue Jackets, Korpisalo made an NHL postseason record 85 saves during a five-overtime, 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 11, 2020.
Korpisalo earned a bronze medal at the 2026 Olympics in Italy while playing for Finland.
