After defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Thursday, the New York Rangers are immediately facing the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.
The Rangers will be aiming to build on their momentum by picking up another victory against Detroit.
Now, as the Rangers prepare for their game against Detroit, they have announced a significant lineup change.
New York Rangers Starting Dylan Garand Over Igor Shesterkin Against the Red Wings
While speaking to reporters, including the New York Post’s Mollie Walker, Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Dylan Garand will be the Rangers’ starting goalie against the Red Wings.
Seeing the Rangers go with Garand as their starting goalie against Detroit is understandable. Shesterkin just started against the Lightning on Thursday and also started in their season opener against the Boston Bruins. With this, Shesterkin could use a rest day, and Garand now has a big opportunity in front of him.
Looking at Garand
Garand was placed on waivers right before the season after not making the NHL roster out of training camp. However, he was quickly called up to the Rangers’ roster due to Joonas Korpisalo now being out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
Garand appeared in his first three career NHL games last season with the Rangers. During them, he had a 2-0-1 record, a .948 save percentage, and a 1.62 goals-against average. With numbers like these, he showed very good promise during his small sample size with New York last season. Now, the 24-year-old will be looking to have a strong start to his 2026-27 season with the Rangers. It will be interesting to see if he can do just that from here.
New York Rangers Announce Major Lineup Change for Red Wings Game