Rangers’ Conor Sheary, Noah Laba leave game against Capitals with injuries

A couple of Blueshirts have been forced to pack it in before 2025 came to a close.

Prior to the third period of Wednesday afternoon’s matchup between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, the Rangers announced that forwards Conor Sheary and Noah Laba wouldn’t return for the rest of the game.

Laba was ruled out with an upper-body injury. While it wasn’t specified what exactly knocked the 22-year-old out of the game, one could presume it had something to do with what happened in the second period in the U.S. capital.

A little before the halfway mark of the contest, Laba was caught with his head down in the neutral zone and was run over by Capitals forward Tom Wilson. While Laba lay on the ice in discomfort, play resumed, with Wilson scoring to give Washington a 2-1 lead.

Laba registered 5:45 of ice time across eight shifts, and finished the game with a plus/minus of -1, a blocked shot and a hit.

Laba has played in each of the Rangers’ first 42 games of the season. The rookie has scored five goals and seven assists for 12 points, carrying a +1 rating while averaging over 12 minutes of ice time per game.

It isn’t quite clear what led to Sheary exiting the game early, but it stems from a lower-body injury. The Winchester, Mass. native was also a -1 against the Capitals on NYE, registering 6:39 of ice time across 11 shifts. Sheary posted two shots and a blocked shot.

Sheary has sat out a few games this season, being a healthy scratch for the bumbling Blueshirts. In 36 games, he has scored a goal and eight assists for nine points. He has a -4 rating while averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time per game.