Rangers adjusting to Fox injury ahead of Trade Deadline, playoff push

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Rangers began moving forward without an injured Adam Fox on Thursday.

How long their No. 1 defenseman remains out with an upper-body injury, and what their makeup looks like and where they are in the standings when he returns are still the unknowns.

"It's tough," center Mika Zibanejad said following practice. "It's a key player for us not only on the ice but off the ice as well in the locker room, the player and the leader he's become. Always tough to be without your top players."

Fox was placed on injured reserve Wednesday after falling hard on his left shoulder in the third period of a 5-1 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday. It's not expected to be season-ending.

Rangers coach Peter Laviolette would not offer a timetable for Fox's return. He won't play against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NHLN, SNO, TVAS).

"Placed on IR and we'll evaluate him," Laviolette said.

Fox is second on the Rangers and tied for fourth among NHL defensemen with 48 points (five goals, 43 assists) in 58 games this season. He plays a team-high 23:14 per game.

"It's a huge loss," said Ryan Lindgren, Fox's longtime defense partner. "He's our top guy, leads us in minutes and does so much. Not only so good offensively, he's so good defensively, great on the kill, all that stuff. It's a huge loss for us."

The good news for the Rangers is forward Chris Kreider (upper body) and defenseman K'Andre Miller (lower body) practiced Thursday and could be available against Toronto. J.T. Miller did not practice because of an illness.

Kreider has missed two straight games but skated on a line with Zibanejad and Will Cuylle and was on New York's No. 1 power-play unit in practice.

Miller was injured in the second period against the Islanders and skated Thursday in a red noncontact jersey. He participated in all drills, skating with regular defense partner Will Borgen and the second power play.

"Really happy about that, that [Miller] made it out there and I saw exactly what you saw," Laviolette said. "'Kreids' the same thing. We'll make those decisions tomorrow, but it's just great to have those guys out there practicing with us. That was positive, real positive."

It is, of course, paramount for the Rangers that they have an idea on when Fox might return because it could influence their hopes of reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs and, more immediately, how they approach the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, which is 3 p.m. ET on March 7.

New York enters play Thursday on the outside of the playoff line in the Eastern Conference, four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings, who hold the top two wild card spots with 66 points each after the Blue Jackets defeated the Red Wings 5-2 on Thursday night. They'll play again on Saturday in the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium in Columbus (6 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, TVAS-D, FX-CA).

The Rangers have 24 games remaining. They have won two in a row.

"I'm going to be boring and say game at a time and just go from there," Zibanejad said. "We should embrace the challenge. We should enjoy it. Obviously, the playoffs start after April 17, but these types of games are playoff games for us. That's the type of games we want to play, and we get to do it this early. Enjoy it."

Decisions in advance of the Trade Deadline could come down to the wire depending on how the Rangers play their four games before March 7, all at home against the Maple Leafs, Nashville Predators, Islanders and Washington Capitals.

Lindgren, Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey are all pending unrestricted free agents.

"Trying not to think about it, just thinking about tomorrow and trying to get back into the playoff picture," Lindgren said. "Obviously, the Deadline is coming up here and I know where I'm at with all that and my contract situation but just trying not to think about it."

Meanwhile, the Rangers used Thursday to try to adjust to life without Fox. Most notably, they presented a new-look power play featuring five forwards -- Zibanejad, Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere.

Zibanejad was in Fox's usual spot on the point. If he's well enough to play Friday, J.T. Miller would likely replace Lafreniere or, depending on his health, Kreider, on that five-forward power-play unit.

"I think the only difference is Mika has got a big shot, so they're going to have to respect that a little bit more and it might open up some other areas," Trocheck said.

Zibanejad recalled the Rangers having a five-forward power-play unit a few seasons back that featured himself, Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, Pavel Buchnevich and Kevin Hayes.

"Pretty good power play and this one is not so bad either," Zibanejad said. "Obviously, we miss 'Foxy,' but we've got to make the most out of it. It's hard to straight up just cover up all the things he brings and the skill that he has, but we've got to do it collectively and go from there."