Adam Fox ruled week to week with upper-body injury in tough blow for Rangers

New York Rangers fans got a bit of bad news today, and although the prospect of being without a top player for the next few games is daunting, things could have been much worse. The Rangers defense returned to full health for Saturday's game against Tampa Bay when Will Borgen returned, but they will once again be in a position where they will need to lean on their depth.

Rangers will be without Adam Fox who is week to week with an upper-body injury

The Rangers' star defenseman will miss the team's upcoming slate of games, and an exact return to the lineup is unknown. Late in the third period of Saturday's loss to the Lightning, Fox went to play a puck behind the goal line, and he took a hit from Brandon Hagel.

Fox did not return, and no immediate news was available after the game. The thought of being without Fox is a bit of a nightmare as he's been the main driver of offense for the Rangers. He's logged 507 minutes at 5v5 for the Blueshirts, and in that span he's posted a 62.83 GF%, a 57.16 CF%, and a 59.72 xGF%. Opponents are scoring just 1.64 goals against per 60 minutes when Fox is on the ice, and the Rangers are generating 2.77 goals for per 60 minutes.

Fox currently sits alone in second place among the NHL's leaders in points by a defenseman with 26, and prior to the injury he'd picked up a point in six consecutive games. This year has been A purposeful one for Fox, as he's raising money for his father-in-law Tim Green who is battling ALS. Fox has pledged to donate $1,023 for each goal and $523 for each assist he picks up, and thus far he's contributed $15,098 to Tackle ALS.

Hopefully whatever is ailing Fox isn't too serious and the week-to-week is only one to two weeks rather than much longer than that, because they will need him back as soon as possible with a difficult December slate of games set to begin.