Adam Fox ‘reaggravated’ knee injury for Rangers in playoffs

Adam Fox confirmed what everyone had been thinking. The New York Rangers defenseman reaggravated a knee injury in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first round.

The injury was aggravated on a knee-on-knee collision with Nick Jensen of the Washington Capitals. Fox was visibly shaken up, but did not sit out for any remaining playoff games. The Rangers defenseman was originally hurt Nov. 2 against the Carolina Hurricanes when Sebastian Aho clipped him knee on knee. Fox missed a month with that injury.

“Same knee as the hit before,” Fox explained Tuesday at break-up day. “Just kind of reaggravated it a little bit. I was able to play, and just tried to play to the best of my ability.”

It was obvious that Fox was not playing at 100 percent following the first-round collision. He was not making the dynamic plays we’ve grown accustomed to nearly as often, and his skating just seemed off at a glance.

Of course, the speculation of Fox playing through injury was entirely correct. Even he acknowledged that it was difficult to manage at times.

“Maybe at times, I think,” Fox said when asked if the injury affected his mobility. “Any time you hurt something, maybe you try and be a little tentative. As it went on, I thought it got better, I tried to create a little more. Definitely in that Carolina series, maybe a little tentative. I thought it got better as it went along.”

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Adam Fox didn’t produce as much for Rangers in playoffs due to injury

It was a rough go in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for Fox. In 16 games, he failed to find the back of the net, and registered eight assists. This comes after a regular season in which Fox registered 73 points, including an NHL career-high 17 goals in 76 games. Certainly an underwhelming performance in the postseason, playing through injury.

Fox still led the Rangers, averaging 23:58 in ice time per game, and also with a plus-5 mark in the playoffs.

For Fox, he knows that there are no excuses when it comes to his play, or that of the Rangers.

“I was able to play,” Fox explained . “Once you’re out there, you’re expected to perform.”

All the defenseman had a tough time generating, especially in the Florida series. There were no goals from defenseman in the Eastern Conference Final, and they were easily identified as a targeting point for Florida, who took advantage of their struggles with moving the puck out of their own zone.

Fox was not the only one playing hurt on the back end, however. Jacob Trouba also revealed that he had a broken ankle in March and that it slowly got better in the playoffs, and Ryan Lindgren cracked a rib in Game 6 of the second round against the Hurricanes.

Nonetheless, the Rangers still came up short. Without a doubt, injuries played a factor. For Fox and the rest of the group, the goal is to get healthy and come back even stronger next season.

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