The New York Rangers have spent a good chunk of this season trying to survive in goal, and Joonas Korpisalo’s return is giving them something they badly needed: stability.
Igor Shesterkin’s absence has been the biggest blow, but the hit got even harder when Korpisalo went down before him with a foot infection that kept him out for more than a month. That left the Rangers leaning on Dylan Garand almost every night.
Garand wound up appearing in 12 straight games, starting 10 of them, because there simply weren’t many other choices. Spencer Martin stepped in for one game, and James Reimer made one start, lasted one period, and never got back on the ice.
Against the Calgary Flames, Korpisalo made his second start since returning, and the Rangers immediately looked like a team with a little more breathing room. Head coach Mike Sullivan now has a second goalie he trusts, which matters because it eases the burden on Garand and keeps the workload from piling up on one netminder.
Korpisalo’s biggest moment came just 3:41 into the game, when defenseman Zayne Parekh sliced through New York’s zone, slipped past several defenders and circled behind the net. On the wraparound, Parekh seemed to have a clean opening. Korpisalo shut it down with one of the season’s best stops, dropping his stick, diving across with his non-glove hand and reaching the crease just in time.
“If I had a stick there, it’s slower to get that hand there,” Korpisalo said, via Vincent Z. Mercogliani of The Athletic (subscription required).
He also described the scramble this way: “He got me swimming,” Korpisalo said of Parekh. “It’s just straight desperation.”
That save helped set the tone for a night in which Korpisalo stopped 29 of 30 shots in a 3-1 win over Calgary. Since coming back from injury, he has gone 2-0-0 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.
For the Rangers, the formula is pretty clear. They don’t need their goalies to be superhuman every night.
They just need league-average play. With Korpisalo back, that suddenly feels a lot more realistic, especially with both goalies able to stay fresher and more active.
In Other News...
Chris Kreider's MSG Return Suddenly Feels Far Less Certain
Chris Kreiders first season with the Canadiens has already taken an unexpected turn, and now his next trip back to Madison Square Garden is suddenly in question. The veteran winger left the game against the Bruins with a lower-body injury after favoring his left leg, did not return, and there was no postgame update on his condition.
For Rangers fans, the timing is notable because Montreal is scheduled to visit MSG next, which had already made Kreiders return a point of interest. Instead, the focus has shifted to whether he will even be available, turning what looked like a familiar reunion into something far less certain. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Fans Are Already Split On A Debate That Could Grow Fast
Early-season hockey always invites a quick verdict, and Rangers fans have already found a few names to argue about. Pavel Dorofeyevs scoring has drawn attention, but so has the minus rating attached to his start, while the goaltending conversation has naturally drifted toward Igor Shesterkin and Dylan Garand. Even Matt Rempe has become part of the debate, with some fans focused on his ice time and others on what he can realistically bring beyond the physical edge.
A scout quoted in the piece urges some patience before turning those first impressions into hard conclusions, which is usually the sensible way to handle October noise. Still, the split is real because these are the kinds of players and roles that tend to shape how a season feels long before the standings do. Whether the skepticism is about Dorofeyevs all-around impact, Garands comparison to Shesterkin, or Rempes fit in the lineup, the larger question is how quickly Rangers fans want to decide what theyre seeing. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers May Need More From Scott Morrow Than They Planned
Scott Morrow has already started to look like more than a depth call-up for the Rangers, even in a small sample. Through six games, his even-strength numbers have been encouraging, and the club has begun using him on the second power-play unit while he settles in as a third-pair defenseman playing about 13 minutes a night.
The next question is whether New York is ready to give him a bigger look before the season gets much deeper. There is a case for moving Morrow up alongside Marcus Pettersson on the second pair, not because the Rangers need to force a decision immediately, but because his underlying performance suggests he may be worth testing in a role that asks more of him. [Read more 🡒]