New York Rangers star defenseman Adam Fox was ruled out for the remainder of Thursday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower-body injury. Here’s what you need to know:
- Fox appeared to suffer the injury during a leg-on-leg collision with Carolina’s Sebastian Aho in the first period.
- The 25-year-old did not return for the start of the second period with the score tied 1-1.
- Entering Thursday, Fox ranked second on the team with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) this season. The 2020-21 Norris Trophy winner has tallied 72 points or more in each of the past two seasons.
UPDATE: Defenseman Adam Fox will be out for the remainder of the game (lower body).
— NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) November 3, 2023
How big a deal a Fox injury would be
Well, how big can you think? Fox is the best defenseman on the Rangers, one of the five best in the league and he’s off to his usual productive start this season with 11 points in his first nine-plus games while playing 22:44 a game. So, it’s big. — Arthur Staple, Rangers writer
What the Rangers do without him
They’ve been among the top defensive teams in the league to start the season — though Fox’s steady play is a factor — so the team defense will have to continue to be strong while extra minutes will fall to K’Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba and possibly Braden Schneider on defense. Zac Jones is the Rangers’ seventh defenseman so far this season and he is an offense-minded player, but his defensive zone work has struggled at this level. And the Rangers have no one in AHL Hartford who can fill more than a bottom-pair role. — Staple
Required reading
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
