Igor Shesterkin was on the ice for part of Monday’s practice, as the goalie battles soreness that kept him out of Saturday’s loss in Minnesota after he got banged up during the previous game against Carolina.

Coach Peter Laviolette said the plan was for Shesterkin to get some work in Monday and see how he recovers and he’ll be evaluated again Tuesday before the Rangers host the Red Wings at Madison Square Garden.

Without Shesterkin, the Rangers have relied on Jonathan Quick, who won his first two starts before facing 40 shots in the shootout loss versus the Wild.

“I thought he had a tremendous amount of work — that we gave him,’’ Laviolette said of the Rangers’ porous defense after they had taken a 3-0 lead. “I thought he was on point in that game. There was a lot of action at our net. We’ve got to do better.”

Perhaps that attitude is why Blake Wheeler said Monday’s practice focused considerably on “doing the dirty work.”

The Rangers, depleted on defense with Adam Fox on long term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, have had to rely on some of their younger defensemen — including the pair of Zac Jones and Braden Schneider.

But Laviolette said there were plenty of areas of weakness that needed to be cleaned up, not just among the inexperienced defensemen.

“I don’t think we were fast enough, I don’t think we worked hard enough [and] I don’t think we competed hard enough,’’ Laviolette said of what he saw from his team after it opened up a three-goal lead. “I’d like to see us straighten our game back out, not necessarily because of a defensive group or a defenseman or a forward group. We just have to play a better game.”

Of the defense as a whole, Laviolette said the loss to Minnesota “wasn’t a great night. We lost battles in areas.”

Barclay Goodrow returned from paternity leave and was at practice on Monday.

The right wing missed Saturday’s loss.