The Rangers are heading into Sunday night with a very different look in goal, and the change is as stark as it gets. Igor Shesterkin is done for the season because of a lower-body injury, which pushes Dylan Garand into the spotlight for the matchup against the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden.
Garand gets the start after already showing a small sample of what he can do. The 24-year-old is 3-1-1 in five career NHL games, with a 1.31 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage. He also stopped 11 of 12 shots in relief of Shesterkin on Friday, when New York’s four-game winning streak ended in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Now the net belongs to him, at least for this night. It comes less than two weeks after he cleared waivers and was sent back to the minors while the Rangers chose to keep Joonas Korpisalo behind Shesterkin. That plan has been blown up by injuries, with Korpisalo also sidelined by a lower-body issue and out at least another month.
Garand’s response to the moment was straightforward.
“I’m excited for the opportunity. Gonna put my heart and soul on the line for these guys and this city every night, and just try to help the team win,” Garand said after practice Saturday.
The Rangers are also making changes up front. Coach Mike Sullivan adjusted his top two lines at practice Saturday, and those combinations are expected to carry over against Vancouver.
Alexis Lafreniere, fresh off a four-game goal burst over his last two games, moves to a line with J.T. Miller and Tye Kartye.
That swap sends Pavel Dorofeyev to Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault.
Lafreniere enters with a three-game point streak and turns 25 on Sunday. Dorofeyev, meanwhile, has one goal in six games despite leading the Rangers with 19 shots on goal. He’s also gone four games without scoring, and Zibanejad is hoping the new setup gives him a better runway to finish chances.
“He’s a goal scorer, he’s a shooter, so with Gabe’s passing ability I think we get a threat in that sense, a pure shooter,” Zibanejad explained. “Try to put him in situations where he can score, and when he doesn’t make sure Gabe and I clean up the rebounds. We haven’t tried it before, it’s a new combination, so it’ll be exciting.”
The rest of the projected lineup includes Will Cuylle with Noah Laba and Eeli Tolvanen, then Oliver Bjorkstrand with Cole Beaudoin and Jaroslav Chmelar. On the blue line, Valdislav Gavrikov pairs with Adam Fox, Marcus Pettersson with Sean Durzi, and Alberts Smits with Braden Schneider. Spencer Martin is expected to be recalled from Hartford to back up Garand.
For the Canucks, this is the third game of a six-game road trip, and the start has gone badly. Vancouver lost the first two by a combined 11-3, including a 4-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The Canucks are 2-4-0 overall and have already given up four goals or more in four games, with lopsided losses of nine and seven goals to the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes.
They are also dealing with their own injury situation in net. Thatcher Demko is on injured reserve after hip surgery last season, though he’s expected to play at some point this season. Without him, Vancouver has allowed 4.83 goals per game, which ranks second worst in the NHL.
Last season, the Canucks finished 32nd and last overall with 58 points. The Rangers had 19 more points, though they were still 30th in the league standings, and New York swept the two-game season series.
Sunday also brings a first for Marcus Pettersson, who will face his former team for the first time since the Rangers acquired him from Vancouver on July 1 in exchange for a conditional first-round draft pick in 2030.
The Rangers will also wear their third jerseys for the first time this season.
The game is set for Sunday, October 11 at 6 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden and will air on MSG.
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