Adam Fox lucked out with a smooth recovery timeline while sidelined with the first significant injury of his hockey career.
The hard part has come afterward.
It has taken some time for the 25-year-old defenseman to get back to the level he was operating at prior to his leg-on-leg collision with Carolina forward Sebastian Aho on Nov. 2, which landed Fox on long-term injured reserve for 10 games.
In fairness, it was a pretty high level.
One that had Fox as a way-too-early candidate for his second Norris Trophy.
Saturday night’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Canadiens, however, represented a small offensive breakthrough for Fox.
While he was on the ice for two of Montreal’s three regulation goals, Fox notched the equalizer with a one-timer from the top of the zone in the third period to help the Rangers force overtime.
“It’s weird coming back from injury at first,” Fox said after the Rangers’ three-goal comeback fell short in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Canadiens. “You’re a little tentative. You don’t want to be making mistakes and looking out of place. I think, for me, it’s kind of gotten better as I’ve gone along. I want to find a bit more consistency I think.
“For me, it was my first injury of a long span. Natural instincts are going to be a little tentative at the start, but I think just trying to build on games and find consistency and contribute as best as I can.”
From a production standpoint, his drop-off from before the injury versus after isn’t that drastic. After posting 11 points (three goals, eight assists) through the first 10 games, Fox has recorded 14 points (one goal, 15 assists) over the last 18.
The one goal, of course, came Saturday night and snapped a 19-game drought.
It’s his overall presence on the ice that hasn’t quite been the same. His defensive instincts have been off at times and Fox hasn’t been finding — or utilizing — the passing and shooting lanes as easily as he usually does. On the power play, Artemi Panarin has distributed the puck more when the two usually share the responsibility equally.
Known for his calm, cool and collectedness under pressure, Fox turned the puck over at the blue line Thursday against the Blackhawks and immediately followed it up with an interference penalty when he pulled Chicago wing Boris Katchouk to the ice out of clear frustration.
It was an incredibly uncharacteristic sequence for Fox, who has always kept his head.
There have still been flashes of Fox’s brilliance, like his performance in the 7-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Dec. 19, and when he saved a goal in the 5-1 win over the Lightning on Dec. 30, swooping in behind goalie Igor Shesterkin and knocking away a loose puck that was inches away from the goal line.
Now Fox will look to build on his game-tying goal against the Canadiens.
“It would’ve felt good to get it in a win,” Fox said. “Goals, especially for a defensemen, can be a little random, obviously. Got a fortunate bounce there. I think, for me, I don’t want to pressure myself into thinking, ‘You haven’t scored in a while, go cheat for that offense or look for that.’ I think anyone will tell you it feels good to get one in, for sure.”