While some may have speculated, it has been confirmed that one of the top blueliners was hurt during the postseason.
According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox played most of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a mild MCL strain.
It was apparent that the 2021 Norris Trophy winner was dealing with something, as he looked slower in the later rounds of the postseason than he usually did. Fox had suffered a knee injury back in November following a knee-on-knee hit from Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho in November, and was later placed on long-term injured reserve.
Per the report, Fox re-aggravated that same knee when he encountered a knee-on-knee collision in Game 4 of the opening round of the playoffs with Washington Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen. The 26-year-old did not skate between the Rangers sweep of the Capitals and their second-round matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Despite being banged up, Fox played every game in the postseason, but only managed to register eight assists in 16 games. The Jericho, N.Y. native averaged close to 24 minutes a game, and ended up with a plus/minus of +5.
The Rangers were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Final, falling to the Florida Panthers in six games. It is the second time in three seasons the Blueshirts were knocked out in the conference finals.
Fox missed nearly a month during the regular season due to the knee injury and ended up missing 10 games overall. However, that did not stop him from posting a 70-point season for the third straight year. He scored 17 goals and 56 assists for 73 points, the first time in Fox’s career that he averaged a point per game.
In 357 career NHL appearances, Fox has scored 53 goals and 255 assists, including 39 points in 46 playoff games.
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