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If the names and numbers were stripped from the back of every Blueshirt, it would’ve been easy to believe that Igor Shesterkin still stood between the pipes.
It would’ve been hard to differentiate the league’s highest-paid goalie from rookie Dylan Garand, who earned back-to-back wins and stopped 44 of 47 shots in his first two starts following Shesterkin’s season-ending injury.
Then, the Rangers felt the magnitude of the former Vezina Trophy winner’s absence in New Jersey, where Garand was pulled after giving up three goals less than five minutes into the second period, exiting a 7-1 loss after allowing four goals on 13 shots.
“I know Dylan will bounce back,” Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan said after Thursday’s game. “He’s a high-character kid. He’s a competitive guy. He’s played really well for us to this point. I would expect him to respond the right way, just like our team.”
On Saturday, Garand bounced back with 28 saves in a 1-0 overtime loss in Columbus.
On Monday, the 24-year-old who opened the season in Hartford (AHL) was brilliant again, maintaining a shutout for nearly 59 minutes of the Rangers’ 5-2 win against the Ducks.
Garand, who is now 4-1-1 in six starts this season, ranks fifth in the league save percentage (.929) among goalies with at least five starts and sixth in goals against average (1.85), just behind Shesterkin (1.79).
Dating back to three strong starts at the end of last season, Garand is now 6-2-2 with a 1.77 GAA and .936 save percentage in his career, having allowed no more than two goals in eight of his nine starts.
“I’ve been asked the question a number of times: ‘What do you expect from Dylan?’” Sullivan said after Monday’s win. “And my expectation based on his body of work here is he’s gonna go in and he’s gonna make saves for us. He’s gonna make timely saves. He’s given us a chance to win night in and night out and that’s what we’ve asked of him.”