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The New York Rangers are extremely lucky to have Dylan Garand ready to take over the No. 1 goaltender responsibilities for the foreseeable future.
At the conclusion of training camp, Garand was among the final cuts, along with forward Taylor Raddysh, as the team trimmed its roster to comply with regular-season rules. Fortunately for the Rangers, he cleared waivers, as it is difficult to imagine the team sitting at 7-3-1 without him.
Shortly after clearing waivers and joining the Hartford Wolf Pack, Garand was recalled to the NHL club when Joonas Korpisalo was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. Not long after, he became the de facto No. 1 goalie when Igor Shesterkin suffered a lower-body injury that could be season-ending. That injury occurred on Oct. 9 on the road against the Washington Capitals.
Since then, the Rangers have played five games, and Garand has started all of them. Given his strong performance and the team's schedule, that trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable 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. "But right now, we think (Garand) is in a good place."
This is a golden opportunity for the rookie netminder to seize. Decision-makers in the organization didn't believe he was ready for even a No. 2 role in the NHL; he is proving them wrong, currently succeeding as the No. 1 and performing at an incredibly high level.
Garand has already distanced himself from Spencer Martin, who is currently the backup. Martin's NHL track record is not strong, with his only appearance coming 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 that 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 opportunities to keep playing. He has been up to the task thus far with a .929 save percentage and 1.85 goals-against average.