Rangers have a hard decision to make on Igor Shesterkin after injury

The Rangers hit the LTIR button Saturday afternoon, and Igor Shesterkin's season-ending tag suddenly carries a lot more weight.

Cole Beaudoin went down. Parssinen came up. And Joseph Veleno landed on LTIR, a three-step shuffle that pushed New York closer to the cap ceiling.

Sounds backward, right? Not with LTIR math. According to PuckPedia, getting tighter to the cap raised the amount the Rangers can now exceed it by to $1.1M.

Veleno was already on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He went pointless over 4 games before the move.

Beaudoin's last shift came last night in Washington. The rookie logged 10:56 in the loss to the Capitals, with one shot and a trip to the box.

Now the number that changes the conversation. If Shesterkin joins Veleno on LTIR, PuckPedia pegs the additional room at $3.97M.

Season-ending LTIR is a different animal entirely. That would push the flexibility to the full $11.6M cap hit.

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Dylan Garand holds the Rangers crease with Korpisalo out

Here's what's on the record. Shesterkin played 28:20 in Washington last night and stopped 13 of 14 shots before Dylan Garand finished the game.

Garand allowed one goal on 12 shots and wore the 3-1 loss. The only Rangers answer was an Alexis Lafreniere power-play goal that Logan Thompson couldn't stop.

The 24-year-old has been sharp in a small sample. He owns a .971 save percentage over 4 appearances, plus a shutout.

Behind him, the cupboard is bare. Joonas Korpisalo sits on IR with a lower-body injury and isn't expected back until at least Oct. 19.

That matters because New York's 4-2-0 start leans hard on the crease. Only 11 goals have gotten past Rangers goalies through six games.

Vancouver visits Sunday to open a two-game homestand. The Rangers are 3-0-0 at home, but how comfortable is anyone handing a backup the net with no veteran safety valve?

If Shesterkin is genuinely day-to-day, parking the highest cap hit among NHL goaltenders on LTIR just to bank room would be a bad idea. Plain and simple.

It's like cancelling your gym membership because you rolled an ankle. The savings look great on paper until you need the place next week.

Chris Drury has the breathing room now. Whether Mike Sullivan gets his No. 1 back before Tampa Bay comes to town Tuesday is the question nobody in that locker room can answer yet.

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