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The New York Rangers<\/a> knew there was a chance<\/a> the injury to starting goalie Igor Shesterkin was going to be serious.<\/p>\n They found out on Saturday that it is season-ending.<\/p>\n The Rangers announced that Shesterkin is going to miss the remainder of the 2026-27 season due to the lower-body injury he suffered on Friday night in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals<\/a>. It is a devastating development for a team that looked like it may have had a really good chance to get back to the playoffs after missing in back-to-back years.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are not many teams in the NHL that are more dependent on their goalie than the Rangers.\u00a0<\/p>\n He has not only been one of the best goalies in the world on a consistent basis over the past six years, but he has always been the one thing keeping an otherwise mediocre roster afloat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Throughout most of his career, the Rangers have surrounded him with a deeply flawed, poor defensive team that consistently gets outshot and out-chanced in 5-on-5 play\u00a0and struggles to push the pace.<\/p>\n Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Shesterkin’s first as a full-time starter, the Rangers’ NHL rank in expected goal share (via Natural Stat Trick<\/a>) during 5-on-5 play has been 22nd, 23rd, 22nd, 22nd, 26th and 22nd. Consistent, but consistently bad.<\/p>\nIgor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury is brutal blow to New York Rangers’ playoff hopes<\/h2>\n