Igor Shesterkin will not return tonight against Utah after what looked like a nasty crash with forward JJ Peterka (update: there was no contact, which makes the injury worse). Shesterkin was in a lot of pain and slamming his blocker on the ice. Meanwhile it looked like the Rangers didn’t really respond or even ruffle Peterka’s hair after it. The Shesterkin injury looked pretty bad, as he was unable to put weight on his left leg, which does not bode well for any kind of hope you may have had about this team rebounding in 2026.
Jonathan Quick replaced Shesterkin, and given how bad this looked, we should expect Dylan Garand to be recalled soon after tonight’s game finishes. Naturally Shesterkin will need some tests to see how bad it is, but this did not look good.
It’s a little sad that no one even bothered to go after Peterka after the Shesterkin injury. Accidental or not, that’s your franchise in net. At the time, it looked like a collision, and accidental or not, that’s your goalie.
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