The vibes of the New York Rangers and fans were understandably high last Friday, when they picked up a huge 5-1 win over the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the 2026 winter Classic. The stars were scoring and goalie Igor Shesterkin was unbeatable. But the vibes have since fallen in the opposite direction.
On Monday, the Rangers lost 3-2 to the Utah Mammoth in overtime. The story of the game was Shesterkin leaving the ice after a collision with Utah's J.J. Peterka, with the goalie unable to put weight on his left leg. Certainly, things couldn't get any worse for the Rangers, right?
One day later, multiple Rangers reporters revealed that star defenseman Adam Fox was heading back onto the long term injured reserve after suffering a lower body injury. Six days ago, Fox made his return from an upper body injury. Now, he's back on the sidelines, and out for a minimum of 10 games.
Adam Fox is going on LTIR. Lower body. He’ll be evaluated when eligible to come off.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) January 6, 2026
Igor Shesterkin is going on IR and will continue to be evaluated.
Adam Fox suffers another injury less than a week after returning to Rangers
The Rangers appeared to avoid the worst-case scenario with Shesterkin, according to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, but he is still on injured reserve due to a lower body injury and will continue being evaluated. But losing Fox again to injury is very concerning.
The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano points out that Fox was not on the ice for the first shift of overtime in the Rangers' loss to the Mammoth.
Fox has a reputation as not only the Rangers' best defender on the roster, but also one of the best at his position in the entire NHL. Not only is he a great defender, but he plays a pivotal role as the Rangers point-man on the top power play unit. Since Fox returned last week in their games against Washington and Florida, the Rangers scored three goals on four power play opportunities, with Fox on the ice. Overall, the Rangers are five-for-eight on power plays.
After a slow start to the season, the Rangers have the 10th-best power play percentage in hockey with 22.2. With Fox out, the power play will undoubtedly struggle.
With Fox now sidelined, the Rangers are calling up Scott Morrow from the AHL. Through 16 games with the Rangers, Morrow has zero goals and three assists, with a plus-minus ratio of minus-1 on an average of 15:34 of ice time.
The Rangers were dealt a big blow in the form of the Shesterkin injury. Now with Fox sidelined, one has to wonder if general manager Chris Drury's trade deadline plans have changed.