The New York Rangers have been forced to navigate a challenging goaltending situation since losing superstar Igor Shesterkin to a season-ending injury. Monday’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers exposed another potential concern for New York.
Rookie goaltender Dylan Garand made a costly mistake in the first period, handing Oilers superstar Connor McDavid an easy goal to open the scoring.
The Rangers ultimately fell 3-1, ending their three-game winning streak and dropping to 10-8-1 on the season.
Garand has performed admirably while filling in for Shesterkin, but his latest mistake highlighted the difficulties of relying so heavily on an inexperienced goaltender.
With veteran Joonas Korpisalo now returning to the lineup, New York faces an important decision about how to manage its goaltending workload moving forward.
He pounces on the misplay by Dylan Garand and the Oilers strike first! 🚨
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Dylan Garand Hands Connor McDavid Easy Goal in Rangers Loss
The costly mistake came just 6:42 into Monday’s matchup at Rogers Place.
Garand attempted to play the puck from behind his own net; however, his pass bounced off the back of the cage, allowing McDavid to recover the puck and score into the open net.
The unassisted goal gave Edmonton an early lead and extended McDavid’s season-opening point streak to 19 games.
It was a particularly frustrating mistake for the Rangers, who have struggled mightily when surrendering the opening goal this season.
New York entered the matchup hoping to extend a three-game winning streak.
McDavid and the Oilers are plenty difficult to deal with normally. Spotting them a free goal dug the Rangers into a tough hole that they couldn’t get out of.
Leon Draisaitl doubled Edmonton’s lead early in the second period before Jaroslav Chmelar responded with a shorthanded goal for the Rangers.
Draisaitl eventually sealed the victory with an empty-net goal late in the third period.
Garand finished with 17 saves, allowing two goals before New York pulled him for an extra attacker.
The loss wasn’t entirely his responsibility, but the opening giveaway proved costly in a game where the Rangers struggled to generate offense.
Rangers Face Difficult Goaltending Decisions Without Igor Shesterkin
Garand’s mistake comes amid an unusual season for New York’s goaltending group.
Shesterkin suffered a season-ending lower-body injury in October, leaving the Rangers without one of the NHL’s premier goaltenders.
Backup Joonas Korpisalo was also sidelined, forcing New York to rely heavily on the 24-year-old Garand.
Despite his limited NHL experience, Garand has delivered several encouraging performances.
New York has been working to recover some of its goaltending depth following the injuries.
Korpisalo has since returned to action, providing coach Mike Sullivan with another experienced option in net.
Before Monday’s defeat, Garand had appeared in 12 consecutive games before receiving a break during Saturday’s win over Seattle.
The rookie entered the Edmonton matchup with a 6-6-1 record, a 2.52 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
Those numbers demonstrate that Garand has been a capable replacement under difficult circumstances.
With Korpisalo back to take some pressure off of Garand and allow him to rest more often, perhaps these mental errors can be eliminated.
Losing a star player like Shesterkin was always going to be a difficult challenge for the Rangers. Garand has stepped up admirably, but last night was another reminder of his inexperience.
The Rangers will have to hope he can quickly learn from his mistakes, as they will likely need strong performances from Garand and Korpisalo to stay competitive.
Rangers Hit With Fresh Goalie Concern After Costly Connor McDavid Goal