These are the nights that, in a way, have become normal for Adam Fox over the course of his career, through his Norris Trophy-winning season in 2020-21 and the five campaigns since. A goal. Two points. Twenty-plus minutes of ice time to anchor the Rangers blue line.
But nights like Tuesday, with a 3-1 win over the Blues to snap a four-game skid, also reaffirm Fox’s status as one of the Blueshirts’ most indispensable pieces. His pair of points moved him to 19 through 16 games, the third-most by a defenseman in the NHL.
And in a game where the Rangers tested their jumbled power-play units and were without Sean Durzi, Fox double-shifted with the man advantage and logged almost four minutes on the penalty kill too. The Rangers had six minutes of power-play time against St. Louis, and Fox stayed on the ice for 5:26 of it.
“I’ll never complain about it,” Fox said of staying with both power-play lines postgame. “But, you know, I think it’s easier when you’re in there and you have zone time and you’re not breaking the puck out four times. I thought we had some good looks, obviously some saves. I think I would take those power plays over the ones sometimes where you get a goal on a rush and you lose momentum when you’re not really snapping around.”
At this rate, with the Blueshirts nearing the quarter mark of their 84-game season, Fox sits on pace for 99 points — which would shatter his previous career high of 74. At this rate, he’ll find himself back in the Norris conversation along the other regulars such as the Oilers’ Evan Bouchard (28 points), the Wild’s Quinn Hughes (22 points) and the Avalanche’s Cale Makar (18 points).
At this rate, with Fox extension-eligible after next season and the market for stars continuing to get reset, a career year would only add to the final number for his next deal too.
When the Rangers jumbled their power-play lines earlier this week, head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant David Quinn — who runs the operation — discussed whether they could use Fox with both units. Vladislav Gavrikov, with Durzi day to day due to an undisclosed injury, skated on the second unit during practice Monday, but as the second unit jumped over the boards during the Blueshirts’ first chance one night later, Fox stayed on the ice. He only left the ice for one shift at the end of their second power play.
In the aftermath of the victory, when told that Fox said he’ll never complain about staying out for the entire power-play window, Sullivan smiled and said, “I’m sure he likes to stay out there.” But, Sullivan also acknowledged, that’ll depend on how many times an opponent clears the puck and how many times Fox has to skate 200 feet to break the puck out. It’s also unclear if the Blueshirts’ strategy from Tuesday will change when Durzi — who has quarterbacked the second unit when healthy — returns.
“That’s gonna be [Fox’s] call when he’s on the ice,” Sullivan said of the changes. “Obviously, he’s an elite power-play guy. If the power play stays in the zone … then that’s when you see him stay on the ice — where he has the ability to stay longer because the workload inside of the time on the ice isn’t as significant. If he’s gotta go back to break the puck out a couple of times, then that’s when you’ll see him change and we’ll use other people there.”
Fox gave them a 1-0 lead early in the second period following a Blueshirts penalty kill, gliding into the Blues end, collecting a pass from Tye Kartye and ripping a shot into the St. Louis net. Then, when the Rangers added an empty-net goal, Fox picked up the second assist on Eeli Tolvanen’s tally.
These are the luxuries that a healthy Fox provides for the Rangers, something they only had for 55 games last season amid two lengthy injury absences.
Without Fox, the Rangers went 8-16-3 in 2025-26. And when Fox has collected at least a point to start the current campaign, they’re 8-4-0.
And it has all added up to the notion that Fox’s status as an irreplaceable piece — on this Rangers blue line and in every game situation — hasn’t changed.
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