Rangers’ Stepan sidelined with fractured leg

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – New York Rangers center Derek Stepan suffered a non-displaced fractured fibula during practice on Wednesday and will be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks, the team announced.

NorthJersey.com reported earlier that Stepan was hurt during an on-ice conditioning test. He had been off the ice because of a foot contusion, which he apparently sustained when blocking a shot in a workout earlier this month.

Stepan scored 17 goals and set career highs with 40 assists and 57 points in 82 games last season. He has never missed a regular-season game in four years with the Rangers, and has compiled 73 goals with 124 assists for 197 points in 294 games.

The 24-year-old Minnesota native notched five goals and 15 points in 24 playoff games last spring, helping the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Finals. He missed just one game — Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Canadiens — after he suffered a broken jaw on a hit by Montreal’s Brandon Prust.

Categorized in: NHL