New York Rangers president John Davidson revealed on Monday morning that goaltender Igor Shesterkin and forward Pavel Buchnevich were involved in a car accident in Brooklyn on Sunday night.
Shesterkin, who was driving, suffered a broken rib and will be re-evaluated in two weeks while Buchnevich is day-to-day.
“Apparently, a vehicle pulled a u-turn in front of them and there was a collision. The airbags were deployed immediately and the seatbelts were being worn by both players, and thankfully for that,” Davidson said. “They were taken to New York-Presbyterian to be seen by our physicians. Buchnevich was quite shaken up.”
The accident brings Shesterkin’s red-hot NHL debut to a screeching halt.
The 24-year-old became just the fourth goalie in NHL history to win nine of his first 10 games after being called up from the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford in January.
Alongside his 9-1-0 record, Shesterkin sported a .940 save percentage and a 2.23 goals-against average.
His absence is an unfortunate way to bring some calmness to the Rangers’ frenetic goaltending situation.
The decision to call up Shesterkin — the team’s top goalie prospect — created a three-headed goaltending monster as head coach David Quinn was forced to juggle the Russian youngster along with team legend Henrik Lundqvist and backup Alexandar Georgiev.
Leading up to the NHL’s trade deadline on Monday afternoon, there were rumblings that the team would look to trade Georgiev to relieve the situation.
Despite falling out of favor in the crease and carrying an $8.5 million cap hit next year, Lundqvist’s no-movement clause ensures that his only way out of New York is when his contract expires after the 2020-21 season.
Now with Shesterkin on the shelf, the Rangers won’t be parting with their goalies any time soon.
Buchnevich is having another strong campaign with the Rangers in 2019-20, adding 14 goals with 23 assists in 61 games this season.
