Igor Shesterkin helped off ice with leg injury vs Capitals

Why Igor Shesterkin is trending

Igor Shesterkin is trending because he got hurt and had to be helped off the ice during the Rangers' game at the Washington Capitals on Friday night. He could not put any weight on his right leg and needed help down the tunnel to the locker room.

What is known: Shesterkin jammed his right skate into the goal post while scrambling back into his crease, his leg bent awkwardly, and he went down in the crease in pain. What is not known yet: there is no diagnosis or timetable for his return. Neither NHL.com nor Yahoo Sports had further detail at the time of the injury, with Yahoo noting simply that more information was expected to come.

What happens next: Dylan Garand takes over as the Rangers' goalie in the near term, and the team will presumably update Shesterkin's status as more is learned.

How it happened

Washington had a power play working when Shesterkin scrambled to get back into position after challenging Pierre-Luc Dubois on the right wing. At 8:20 of the second period, his right skate jammed into the right post. His right leg appeared to bend under him as he fell back into the crease, and he stayed down while Rangers trainers attended to him.

Rangers defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson helped him to the bench, where he was helped the rest of the way to the dressing room. Dylan Garand came in to replace him with the score tied 1-1. Shesterkin had stopped 13 of 14 shots to that point, with the only goal against him a long slap shot from Washington's Timothy Liljegren that beat him glove side through traffic less than two minutes before the injury.

The Rangers' goalie situation now

This comes at an awkward time for New York. The Rangers are already without backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo, who is week to week with a lower-body injury, which leaves Garand as the next man in net.

Garand has made the most of his chances so far. He was called up from Hartford of the AHL on Oct. 1 after clearing waivers, having been sent down on Sept. 28, and made 22 saves for his first NHL shutout in a 2-0 win at Detroit on Oct. 2. Entering Friday's game, the 24-year-old was 3-0-1 with a 1.22 goals-against average, a .958 save percentage, and one shutout in four career NHL games, all starts.

Shesterkin's season before the injury

Shesterkin had been one of the bright spots of New York's start to the season. Through four starts prior to Friday, he was 3-1-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. He also scored his first career NHL goal on Oct. 1 in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

None of that changes what happened Friday. The Rangers now wait on more word about how serious the injury is, same as everyone searching his name tonight.

Facts per NHL.com, Yahoo Sports. Opinion is the taproom's.