The New York Rangers opened the season with a strong stretch after an opening-night blip, winning six of their first nine games. Franchise goaltender Igor Shesterkin even scored into an empty net during that start. The run turned on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, in Washington, when Shesterkin was injured against the Capitals and helped to the bench. The injury is season-ending.
Coach Mike Sullivan, captain J.T. Miller and the Rangers say they still have a way to succeed without their most important player. Sullivan said the team is building an identity and a style of play in which every player has a role. He called Shesterkin’s absence a tough blow that does not change the daily goal, and he credited the leadership group for keeping morale from staying down.
A 7-1 road loss to New Jersey on Thursday in Newark showed how hard that will be. Miller was strong for the first 19 minutes, then a turnover just before intermission started a collapse. Dylan Garand, Shesterkin’s successor in net, was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots.
Garand, 24, finished training camp third on the organizational depth chart and remained with the Rangers because no other NHL team claimed him off waivers before opening night. In his first three appearances before New Jersey he had a league-best 1.15 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage. He is expected to stay the starter until he shows he cannot handle it. Defenseman Adam Fox said Garand is mentally tough and that the team told him to forget the New Jersey night.
New York is trying to return to the playoffs after missing the past two seasons, following a trip to the 2024 Eastern Conference final. Shesterkin’s absence makes that climb steeper.
Alberts Smits, the Rangers’ youngest player, did not dwell on the loss of the goaltender. The 18-year-old from Latvia, the fifth pick in the draft, made the team out of camp. “Injuries are going to happen,” Smits said. “I wish all the best for him and for him to recover as fast as he can. But that’s just sports. There’s going to be injuries. We’ve just got to go through them, and we can’t stop right now when something like that happens.”
Alexis Lafrenière has seven goals, Fox has nine assists and Mika Zibanejad has eight points. Miller said the larger reason the group believes it can continue is defending and keeping the puck out of its own net, with a commitment over the full length of the ice.