The New York Rangers came out of their nearly week-long break and immediately ran into trouble, falling 4-1 to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday night for their fourth straight defeat.
For Dylan Garand, the night carried extra weight. The 24-year-old goaltender had been thrust into a heavy workload after Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury on Oct. 9, starting seven straight games and appearing in nine in a row. He opened that stretch well, but the wear and tear started to show as the games piled up, and both his play and the Rangers’ overall form slipped during a run that included three straight losses before the six-day break.
Sunday was supposed to be a reset. Instead, Garand was beaten twice before the first period was even 10 minutes old.
Mike Sullivan pointed to Connor McDavid on the opening goal, saying, “The first goal is a tough one,” Mike Sullivan said. “McDavid is a unique player. When he ramps up speed like that, it’s hard to stop.”
The second goal came at 6:19 of the first when Colton Dach’s shot slipped through Garand’s five-hole. Garand didn’t hide from it afterward, calling his effort on that play “awful.”
By the middle of the second period, New York was staring at a three-goal hole, but Sullivan didn’t view the Rangers’ opening stretch as a total disaster. He said the group had the right approach even if the results weren’t there.
“I don't think the start was terrible by any stretch,” Sullivan emphasized. “We gave up, I think, three goals and nine shots or something, we got to be better there. But just from an energy standpoint or even momentum standpoint, I felt like they had the right intentions.”
Garand, though, was far harsher on himself. He said he settled in after the rough opening half-hour, but he wasn’t interested in softening the verdict on his own performance.
“I felt really good in the second 30 minutes, but I thought my first 30 minutes was awful,” Garand said. “Honestly, inexcusable.
Let the guys down. Pretty disappointing, put that loss on me.
And yeah, it sucks.”
With Shesterkin and Joonas Korpisalo both unavailable, the Rangers have had little choice but to lean on Garand, a difficult assignment for a young goalie still building his NHL resume. Even when Korpisalo returns from injured reserve - and that could be soon after he resumed practicing this week - Garand will still be a key part of the plan while Shesterkin remains out.
Sullivan made it clear he still believes in him.
“I just think he's a great kid and he's a competitive guy, and so I think that's just his nature,” Sullivan said of Garand. He'll bounce back. He's a high character kid.”
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Dylan Garand is set to start in goal, giving the Rangers another look at a netminder who has been thrust into a heavy workload since Igor Shesterkin went down with a season-ending knee injury. Edmonton is expected to counter with Matt Tomkins, but the bigger issue for New York is how its lineup holds up against a top-tier opponent when the blue line is not fully settled. For a team trying to navigate a brutal run of games, Sunday feels like an early stress test. [Read more 🡒]