It sent a shock wave through the Rangers organization, but it could have been a lot worse.
Rookie goaltending phenom Igor Shesterkin and fellow Russian forward Pavel Buchnevich were involved in a car accident in Brooklyn on Sunday night, team president John Davidson said Monday. The two 24-year-olds initially declined to be taken to the hospital, but eventually went to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where they were examined by team physicians.
Buchenvich was “quite shaken up,” according to Davidson, but he suffered “no significant injuries and he’s listed as day-to-day.” Shesterkin, though, suffered a non-displaced rib fracture, which will put his historic start on Broadway on pause.
“The estimate right now is that he will be reassessed regarding his injury in a couple of weeks,” said Davidson, whose club was also very active before Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. “In our business, you’re certainly dealt curveballs all the time. That’s a tough curveball we have to deal with.”
Shesterkin was driving a 2019 Porsche southbound on Ocean Avenue near Avenue Z around 8:30 p.m. when a 2017 Honda sedan driven by a Connecticut man made an illegal U-turn in front of their vehicle, police said Monday. The Rangers’ vehicle struck the sedan and a parked SUV, police said. No charges have been filed and no summonses have been issued.
Coming over from Russia this season as the heralded heir to Henrik Lundqvist’s throne as the Rangers starting goalie, Shesterkin has lived up to the hype. Since he was called up from AHL Hartford on Jan. 6, Shesterkin is one of only four goaltenders in league history to win at least nine of his first 10 NHL appearances, and the first in franchise history to do so.
His emergence created a bit of an awkward three-goalie situation, along with Alex Georgiev, who was set to get the start against the Islanders on Tuesday night at the Coliseum.
“Pretty scary news. Hard to believe something like that can happen,” Georgiev said after Monday’s practice. “Everybody was concerned before the practice. Everybody has to get those things away from them. We heard that the guys should be OK, and Igor will get well soon, hopefully, and be in good shape considering how big of an accident [it was].”
The accident created a pall over the proceedings Monday, which also included Chris Kreider signing a seven-year, $45.5 million contract extension and the trading of defenseman Brady Skjei to the Hurricanes. But the front office did what they could not to let it affect it too much with a lot of business to conduct.
“It’s an unfortunate incident that happened,” said general manager Jeff Gorton. “We’re thankful that the accident wasn’t worse and that these guys are going to be OK relatively soon.”
Lundqvist, who will turn 38 Monday and is in his 15th year with the Rangers, was empathetic to the situation. He is likely to get more playing time now, having been relegated to just three starts in the seven weeks since Shesterkin was called up and none since Feb. 3.
“It’s been real weird today, the energy, for different reasons,” Lundqvist said. “The first concern is obviously how they feel, and everything is under control. But it’s scary when you hear something like that.”
— Additional reporting by Larry Celona, Craig McCarthy