Dylan Garand’s night ended with history and a blank sheet, and that was enough to carry the Rangers past the Red Wings, 2-0, on Friday at Little Caesars Arena.
The rookie goalie stopped all 22 shots he saw for his first career shutout in just his fourth NHL start, giving New York back-to-back nights in which a Rangers netminder headlined the win. One day after Igor Shesterkin’s 24-save performance in a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay, Garand stepped in and delivered a clean finish of his own.
Garand also joined rare company. He became the fourth goalie in Rangers history to post a shutout within his first four NHL starts, alongside Steve Baker, Mackenzie Skapski and Hockey Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist.
New York did not need much offense to back him up. Sean Durzi opened the scoring with a power-play goal 5:12 into the first period, and the Rangers carried that lead deep into the third before Eeli Tolvanen added an empty-net goal with 1:16 left.
Durzi’s night went beyond the scoresheet, too. Late in the second period, he dropped the gloves with Red Wings forward Marco Kasper and sent the 22-year-old to the ice with a right-handed haymaker.
Garand’s early NHL line is eye-catching: 3-0-1, a 1.22 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage through four starts. He was recalled from the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack on Thursday after the Rangers placed veteran backup Joonas Korpisalo on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
The win moved New York to 2-1-0 after opening the season with three games in four days.
Detroit came out to a tense home atmosphere for its 2026-27 season opener without Dylan Larkin, who is expected to miss the first few games with an upper-body injury. The crowd made its feelings known during introductions, booing the disgruntled ex-captain after his trade request this summer, and the frustration spilled over into “sell the team” chants after a sluggish start.
The Rangers grabbed control early, recording the first six shots and keeping Detroit out of the offensive zone for the opening five minutes. During a Nate Danielson holding penalty, the Red Wings managed only five seconds of offensive-zone time before Tolvanen turned play the other way, pushed into the zone and found Gabe Perreault, who set up Durzi for a blast from the high slot.
Detroit’s first shot on goal came at 6:39, when Alex Sandin-Pellikka fired the puck the length of the ice during New York’s second power play of the period. The Red Wings briefly thought they had allowed another goal 31 seconds later when Oliver Bjorkstrand deflected a Durzi shot in, but the call was wiped out after review showed New York entered the zone offside.
Garand’s first major test came at 8:37, when he swallowed up a Sandin-Pellikka shot through traffic. He kept answering from there. At 15:50, former Ranger Andrew Copp tipped a shot from Anton Johansson, making his NHL debut, and the puck struck the inside of the right post before settling into Garand’s butterfly crouch.
Detroit finished the first period with a push, firing six straight shots, and Garand’s best stop of the frame came with 1:28 left when he turned aside a point-blank chance from Kasper after a turnover behind the net. Even with New York ahead on the scoreboard, Detroit held an 11-8 edge in shots, a 4-2 advantage in high-danger chances and a 59.44 percent expected-goals share at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Rangers went the final 7:56 of the first without a shot on goal, and Detroit carried that momentum into the second. Adam Fox finally ended New York’s drought at 8:11 of the period, snapping a stretch of 16 minutes and seven seconds without a shot on goal.
The third period was tight and quiet, with the teams combining for just nine shots on goal. New York held a 6-3 edge over the final 20 minutes, while Detroit missed chances from Tye Kartye and Alex Debrincat and saw another Kartye opportunity denied by Josh Gibson.
With 2:15 remaining, Detroit pulled Gibson, and Tolvanen closed it out on the empty net with help from Kartye and Fox.
The Rangers now have a day off before returning home to face Vincent Trocheck and the Utah Mammoth at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
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