LAS VEGAS — Almost as soon as the Rangers got their No. 1 goalie back, they lost him again for at least three games.

Igor Shesterkin entered COVID-19 protocol ahead of his probable start in the Rangers’ 5-1 loss to the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. As a result, Alexandar Georgiev got the starting nod in goal and Keith Kinkaid was recalled from the taxi squad to serve as backup.

“Disappointing obviously,” head coach Gerard Gallant said after the loss, which dropped the Rangers to 22-9-4. “But what do you do? You move on, you know, next man up. That’s all you can do.”

Because the NHL reduced the isolation period from 10 to five days, Shesterkin will miss a minimum of two more games after Thursday’s contest. He should be eligible to return to game action by the time the Rangers play the Sharks in San Jose on Jan. 13.

The Rangers got Shesterkin back after the 25-year-old missed eight games with a suspected groin injury last month. Shesterkin went 2-1 in his three starts following the holiday recess, including a shootout victory over the Lightning on Dec. 31.

Georgiev, who made 30 saves in the loss on Thursday, will now get a few more starts than planned as the Rangers travel to California for three games before wrapping up the season-long five-game road trip in Philadelphia on Jan. 15.

“Nothing he could’ve done,” Gallant said of Georgiev’s performance in the defeat. “There was just too many shots and too much pressure around the net. I thought he was fine. He wasn’t the issue at all.”

Artemi Panarin was sidelined for his third consecutive game on Thursday as the star winger wrapped up his five-day quarantine as per the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols. Additionally, Patrik Nemeth missed his third game as well because of what the team says is personal reasons.

Gallant said he expects to get both players back at some point during the current road trip.

Zac Jones drew into the lineup for a third straight game, edging rookie Nils Lundkvist off the blue line in the past two.

The Rangers haven’t had many players battle it out for spots throughout the start of the season, considering a majority of the lineup changes have been made based on who is available game to game. Jones may have made his season debut this past Sunday against the Lightning because of personnel hurdles — with Ryan Lindgren in COVID-19 protocol and Nemeth sidelined due to personal reasons — but the 21-year-old blue liner has remained in the lineup despite Lindgren’s return.

“It’s always a friendly competition with everybody, and we all know that,” Jones said. “There’s a couple spots that we’re all fighting for, so it’s a good healthy competition we have here.”

Lundkvist has fluctuated in and out of the Rangers’ lineup since he was sidelined for four games with a non-COVID illness before the holiday break. With Lundkvist scratched, Jones has been partnered up with Libor Hajek on the Rangers’ third pairing. Hajek is in the midst of his most extended look of the season, having competed in the last nine straight games.