Major development: New York Rangers provide the latest regarding Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin's injuries

At practice on Friday, beat reporter Vince Z. Mercogliano reported that both Fox and Shesterkin skated on their own earlier in the day. It's not a full return, but it's the first truly encouraging sign in a rough stretch.

Both stars have been shelved with lower-body injuries since the Jan. 5 loss to the Utah Mammoth. The Rangers put Shesterkin on injured reserve and Fox on long-term injured reserve, with Fox not eligible to return until at least Jan. 31.

Personally, I'll take any sliver of progress, because this season has felt like one long injury bulletin.

The catch is that skating alone doesn't mean playing soon. Earlier this week, Mike Sullivan said none of the injured regulars were particularly close, and the team still hasn't offered a real timetable beyond the LTIR minimum.

In the crease, Shesterkin's absence has forced Jonathan Quick into heavy minutes, and the results have been chaotic. Shesterkin was 17-12-4 with a .912 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against before he went down.

Fox is the bigger systems problem, because he drives exits and quarterbacks the first power-play look. He has 28 points in 30 games, and he's carrying a $9.5 million cap hit, so there's no hiding how much the Rangers miss him.

Without him, the Rangers' breakouts get noisier, with more glass-and-out plays and fewer controlled touches through the middle. On the power play, the puck still finds Artemi Panarin, but the blue line decisions aren't as automatic.

Friday's skate doesn't fix everything, but it changes the vibe. The next milestone is simple, get both guys into a full team practice, then start counting real days again.

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