What are the Rangers' options now with Igor Shesterkin going on injured reserve and Adam Fox on LTIR?

If losing goaltender Igor Shesterkin wasn’t enough to torpedo their chances of reaching the playoffs, the Rangers are also going to be without No. 1 defenseman Adam Fox for an extended period.

An NHL source said Tuesday that Shesterkin, who left Monday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth in the first period with a lower-body injury, will be going on injured reserve. Fox, who had only just returned after a 14-game absence due to an upper-body injury, will be going on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, the source said.

Fox, the Jericho native, played in his third game Monday since being activated off LTIR for the New Year’s Eve game in Washington. When he was injured is not known. He left the ice with 59 seconds left in the third period Monday and did not play in overtime.

The Rangers were off Tuesday, so there was no official word on the status of either player. But late in the day the team called up veteran goalie Spencer Martin and defenseman Scott Morrow from AHL Hartford. Forward Brett Berard was returned to Hartford, which may indicate J.T. Miller (upper-body injury) is ready to come off injured reserve in time for Thursday’s home game against Buffalo.

Martin, 30, was signed in November after returning from a stint in the KHL. He is 1-4-1 with a 3.01 goals-against average and .903 save percentage for Hartford. Morrow, 23, was acquired from Carolina over the summer in the K’Andre Miller trade. He has played 16 games for the Rangers this season and has three assists. He has been used mostly as an injury replacement, first for Will Borgen, and then for Fox. He had been sent back to Hartford when Fox came back.

Shesterkin was helped off the ice to the locker room with 7:00 left in the first period Monday and was unable to put weight on his left leg. Backup Jonathan Quick replaced him. Quick will serve as the No. 1 goalie while Shesterkin is out.

All coach Mike Sullivan was able to say about Shesterkin after the game was that he was “being evaluated’’ for a lower-body injury.

Losing Shesterkin (17-12-4 with a 2.45 goals-against average and .913 save percentage) would be devastating to the Rangers’ playoff hopes.

“There are certain guys that drive your team, and he's one of them for us,’’ Sullivan said. “He's an elite player in his position. I think he's one of the very best in the game. And when you lose a player like that for any length of time, those types of players are difficult to replace.’’

“You don’t want to lose anyone, and especially Igor,’’ defenseman Braden Schneider said. “He’s been so great for us. It definitely sucks. I hope he’s OK.’’

Quick, the Milford, Conn., native, is the winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history, with 407 victories. He has won three Stanley Cups, two with the L.A. Kings and the third as a backup with Vegas, and was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2011-12. He is 3-6-2 this season, with a 2.23 GAA and .919 save percentage in 11 appearances. But he will turn 40 on Jan. 21, so how he will handle an increase in workload is a question.

Losing Fox too means the Rangers are without the two most indispensable players on their roster. In the 14 games Fox missed with what’s believed to have been a shoulder injury, the Rangers were 6-5-3, and their power play scored 6 goals in 39 opportunities (15.4%). In the three games since his return, the power play was 5-for-8 (62.5%) and the team went 1-1-1.

On the season, with Fox as the primary point man, the power play is 18-for-68 (26.5%). It is 6-for-40 (15%) without him.

Fox is the third player on LTIR, joining forwards Adam Edstrom and Conor Sheary. Going on LTIR means Fox must miss at least 10 games, and at least 24 days. He will be out until at least the Jan. 31 game at Pittsburgh. With him on LTIR, the Rangers will be allowed to exceed the NHL’s $95.5 million salary cap by the amount of his $9.5 million salary, minus the $3.8 million cap space they currently have.

Shesterkin going on IR, rather than LTIR, suggests perhaps his injury is not catastrophic. A player on injured reserve is shut down for a minimum of seven days, which would mean Shesterkin would have to miss at least the next three games – Thursday against Buffalo, Saturday in Boston, and next Monday at home against Seattle. He would be eligible to return next Wednesday at home against Ottawa.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.