Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin out for the season after suffering lower-body injury

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin is out for the season after suffering a lower-body injury during Friday's loss to the Washington Capitals, the team announced.

Shesterkin was injured during the second period and had to be helped off the ice, unable to put any weight on his right leg. The Rangers did not reveal exactly what happened to the 30-year-old netminder.

During a scramble in the Rangers' defensive end, Shesterkin jammed his right skate into the goal post while trying to reposition himself for a save. The leg then appeared to awkwardly bend as he collapsed in the crease.

"It's awful," said Rangers captain J.T. Miller afterward. "He's a pillar of this team. It stinks. … We don't even know what's going on, but to see him leave the game is a shot to all of us, a shock to all of us. But at the same time, it means we got to step up to a man to try to get the job done, especially [backup Dylan Garand]."

Garand, the team's fourth-round draft pick in 2020, is now the Rangers' No. 1 goalie. He has five career NHL starts and stopped 11 of 12 shots against the Capitals after coming in for Shesterkin.

Shesterkin is in his eighth NHL season, all with the Rangers. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22 as the league's top goaltender and was also named a First-Team All-Star that season. This is the second season of an eight-year, $92.475 million extension he signed in Aug. 2021.

Through five starts, Shesterkin was 3-1-0 with a .935 even strength save percentage and was a little over a week removed from scoring the first goalie goal in Rangers history.

That wasn't the only bad goalie news the Rangers announced on Saturday. Backup Joonas Korpisalo, who was already considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, will miss an additional four weeks as he recovers.