The New York Rangers won the Metropolitan division this season with a franchise-record 114 points, lifting their fourth Presidents Trophy and entering the postseason with Stanley Cup expectations.
The Rangers swept the Washington Capitals in the first round before eliminating the Carolina Hurricanes in six games in the second round. The Rangers then faced the defending Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers in the conference final. Despite taking a 2-1 series lead, the Rangers fell in six games to the Panthers.
With the Blueshirts eliminated from the postseason, they had their locker clean-out day on Tuesday, and what has become a hockey tradition, players revealed the injuries they had been playing through.
Rangers Post-Season Injury Updates
Jimmy Vesey suffered a serious shoulder injury
In game two of the Eastern Conference Finals, Ryan Lomberg hit Jimmy Vesey up high, and Vesey left the game with what was described as an upper-body injury.
According to Jonny Lazarus of Bleacher Report, Vesey suffered a serious shoulder separation to the point where you could “see the bone through his shirt.”
Vesey ultimately played 12 games this postseason, scoring one goal and registering two assists.
Adam Fox finally reveals the details of his knee injury
Adam Fox did not look quite right for most of the postseason, and the popular theory that the 26-year-old hurt his knee when he collided with Nick Jensen in the first round was correct.
“It was the same knee as the hit before. Just kind of re-aggravated it a little bit. Like I said, I was able to play and just tried to play to the best of my abilities,” Fox said. “Any time you hurt something, maybe you feel a little tentative. As it went on, I thought it got better and tried to create a little more, but definitely, that Carolina series made me a little tentative and thought it got better as it went along.”
via SNY
The knee injury previously cost the New York native time in the regular season but Fox remained in the lineup and had zero goals and eight assists across 16 games while averaging 23:57 minutes of ice time.
Jacob Trouba played on a broken ankle
No Blueshirt has been more criticized following the Rangers’ early postseason exit than captain Jacob Trouba, but the 30-year-old was playing through quite a gnarly injury.
According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, Trouba suffered a broken ankle that resulted in a “big chunk of his ankle” coming off. Since it wasn’t a weight-bearing bone, the Michigan native could play, although skating was not pleasant.
Despite the injury, Trouba played in all 16 postseason games, averaging 20:59 minutes of ice time per game while scoring one goal and registering six assists with 22 penalty minutes.
Ryan Lindgren battled through cracked ribs
Ryan Lindgren was a warrior for the Rangers this postseason, being forced down the tunnel multiple times only to return to the bench and be on the ice minutes later. All those bumps and bruises did catch up to the pending restricted free agent.
According to Vince Mercogliano of USA Today, Ryan Lindgren suffered a cracked rib in game six against the Hurricanes. Despite being battered and bruised, Lindgren played in all 16 postseason games, averaging 20:07 minutes of ice time per game while also registering three apples.