NY Rangers Schedule Gives Dylan Garand Plenty of Leeway

The New York Rangers are incredibly fortunate to have Dylan Garand available to handle the No. 1 goalie duties for the foreseeable future.

At the end of training camp, he was part of the final cuts, along with forward Taylor Raddysh, to make the roster compliant for the regular season. Luckily, he cleared waivers, because it is hard to envision the team being 7-3-1 at this point if another team had claimed him.

Just after he cleared waivers and joined the Hartford Wolf Pack, he was back with the NHL team following Joonas Korpisalo being placed on IR with a lower-body injury. Not long after, he came the de facto No. 1 golaie when Igor Shesterkin suffered a lower-body injury that can be season-ending.

That injury occurred on Oct. 9 on the road against the Washington Capitals. Since that point, the Rangers have played five games and Garand has been in net for all of them. Given how well he has performed, and how the team’s schedule is set, expect that to be the case for the foreseebale future.

Rangers confident in Dylan Garand between the pipes

“Big picture, we have an eye on what the schedule looks like and how we’re going to try to utilize our goaltenders,” Sullivan said, via Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic (subscription required). “But right now, we think (Garand) is in a good place.”

This is a golden opportunity for the rookie netmind to take advantage of. Decision makes in the organization didn’t believe he was ready for even a No. 2 role in the NHL; he is proving them wrong, succeeding currently as the No. 1 and performing at an incredibly high level.

Garand has already distanced himself from Spencer Martin, who is currently the backup. His NHL track record is not strong, with his only appearance being in relief of Garand in a 7-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

In an ideal world, Martin will remain as an emergency option, and it is certainly possible based on the team’s schedule. New York has 13 more games before their next back-to-back set, which starts on Nov. 27 and Nov. 28, on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks and at home against the Calgary Flames.

With five weeks until that point, Korpisalo has plenty of time to get healthy and back up to speed. It should be noted that he has yet to start skating, but he is expected back within the next few weeks.

There is built in rest with the schedule, so Garand is going to receive plenty of opportunites to keep playing. He has been up to the task thus far with a .929 save percentage and 1.85 goals-against average.