On an off day for Igor Shesterkin, the Rangers announced that he would be out one to two weeks with an upper-body injury. He sustained the injury in the Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the Penguins on Friday night.

The timing couldn’t have been better for the Rangers who now have two weeks off until they play against the Sabres on Saturday, Feb. 22. They can thank the schedule for that. Due to the Four-Nations Face-Off, which begins this Wednesday, Feb. 12, Shesterkin can rest and recover from whatever is ailing him.

“You don’t like to see that, I don’t want to see any of our players go down with injury,” coach Peter Laviolette told reporters prior to the Rangers’ 4-3 win over the Blue Jackets. “There is a little bit of time coming up here, that’s useful. There’s no games being played so that’s a useful thing.” 

It was late in the second period against the Pens that Shesterkin might have suffered the injury. After making a save, he was in some discomfort during a stoppage with 1:05 remaining. The Rangers trainer came out to check on him, but he stayed in for the remainder of the game. In the third period, he never faced a single shot, with the Rangers outshooting the Pens 7-0.

Shesterkin wasn’t scheduled to play last night at Columbus. Instead, Jonathan Quick got the start and made 22 saves to pick up his eighth win of the season. Due to the injury, the Rangers recalled goalie Dylan Garand from the Hartford Wolf Pack to back up Quick. Garand was returned to Hartford on Sunday.

The stoppage comes at a good time for Shesterkin, who struggled over his last five starts by going 1-4-0 with a 3.84 goals-against-average and .835 save percentage. That followed a better stretch to start the calendar year when he posted a 6-0-1 record with a 1.39 GAA and .948 save percentage with two shutouts. Overall, he’s 18-18-3 with a 2.87 GAA and .906 save percentage for the season.

Those numbers are way off his career marks, which include a 2.50 GAA and .919 save percentage. Maybe a reset will help him for the stretch drive with the Rangers having 27 games remaining to reach the playoffs. They entered the break trailing the Red Wings by three points for the second wild card and the Senators by four points for the first wild card. Undoubtedly, they’ll need Shesterkin to be at his best when the season continues. Most importantly, he has to be healthy.

If there’s one thing they have going for them, it’s that they have the most regulation wins (25) amongst the pack they’re competing with to make the postseason. Regulation wins are the number one tiebreaker. Here’s how they stack up on Super Bowl Sunday following today’s two games that included the Lightning defeating the Canadiens 5-3.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC

1. Panthers 57 GP 34-20-3 71 Pts 28 RW
2. Maple Leafs 55 GP 33-20-2 68 Pts 28 RW
3. Lightning 55 GP 31-20-4 66 Pts 26 RW

METROPOLITAN

1. Capitals 55 GP 36-11-8 80 Pts 31 RW
2. Hurricanes 56 GP 33-19-4 70 Pts 29 RW
3. Devils 57 GP 31-20-6 68 Pts 27 RW

WILDCARD

1. Senators 56 GP 29-23-4 62 Pts 22 RW
2. Red Wings 55 GP 28-22-5 61 Pts 21 RW
3. Blue Jackets 56 GP 26-22-8 60 Pts 18 RW
4. Bruins 57 GP 27-24-6 60 Pts 20 RW
5. Rangers 55 GP 27-24-4 58 Pts 25 RW
6. Islanders 55 GP 25-23-7 57 Pts 19 RW
7. Canadiens 56 GP 25-26-5 55 Pts 18 RW
8. Penguins 57 GP 23-25-9 55 Pts 16 RW
9. Flyers 57 GP 24-26-7 55 Pts 15 RW

As one can conclude, there’s a lot of parity in the league. Even the top teams aren’t what I’d call locks. The Jets and Caps have the best records, with Winnipeg having 81 points to the Caps’ 80 following their 5-4 shootout loss to Utah HC today. Anything can happen. All you have to do is get in.

For the Blueshirts, it’s simple. Beat the teams they’re competing against. They came back to defeat the Blue Jackets late in regulation to gain two points in the standings. When play resumes, following the Sabres, they visit the Pens and then the Islanders to complete a four-game road trip. That’s if you count last night’s win at Columbus. They conclude February against the Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden. After they host the Predators to begin March, there’s a tough stretch that includes games against the Islanders, Caps, Senators, Blue Jackets, Jets, Wild, and Blue Jackets to conclude the season series. That’s followed by Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver all on home ice.

There’s no let-up in the schedule. They’ll then travel out to California to face the Kings, Ducks, and Sharks with the final two a back-to-back. The remainder in April comes against the Wild, Lightning, Flyers, Islanders, Hurricanes, Panthers, and Lightning. It won’t be easy. If you’ve followed this team, you already know that the Rangers can beat anyone and lose to anybody.

I’m glad there are two weeks off. We’re going to need it.