The scene that unfolded Tuesday night at the Garden — the “Dy-lan” chants echoing just weeks after he’d been waived, the latest sign that maybe these Rangers can survive without Igor Shesterkin — almost never had a chance to materialize.
Because for 24 hours in late September, the Blueshirts took a calculated risk by putting Dylan Garand on waivers after the 24-year-old lost the backup goalie competition to Joonas Korpisalo.
Dan De Palma, Garand’s longtime goaltending coach with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, dissected the scenarios for him. Sure, he could get claimed off waivers. Sure, he could end up back in AHL Hartford for another season after entering the summer with the inside track to backing up Shesterkin. It didn’t matter either way — he needed to keep pushing, keep focusing day to day like De Palma had always preached, keep trusting that, eventually, it would pay off. Garand, De Palma said, was excited for another year with the Wolf Pack.
But it didn’t take long for the Rangers goaltending equation to change. Korpisalo sustained a lower-body injury ahead of the second game, so Garand was recalled. Then, Shesterkin’s right skate jammed into the post Friday, sustaining a season-ending knee injury. The “circumstance of why is not great,” De Palma said of Shesterkin’s injury and Garand’s opportunity, but entering play Wednesday, Garand led NHL goaltenders who’ve made at least three appearances with his 1.15 goals against average and his .951 save percentage — serving as another reminder of the disaster the Rangers would be staring down if another team claimed him.