Dylan Garand has stepped into a difficult crease in New York and given the Rangers a chance to breathe. With Igor Shesterkin sidelined for the rest of the season by a lower-body injury suffered Oct. 9, Garand is 2-1-0 with a .932 save percentage, stopping 55 of 59 shots since taking over during the game in which Shesterkin was hurt.
The Rangers lost more than a starting goalie when Shesterkin went down. The 2022 Vezina Trophy winner entered the injury with a 3-1-0 record and .927 save percentage, and his .917 career save percentage is tied with Andrei Vasilevskiy for the best among active NHL netminders. Coach Mike Sullivan now needs Garand and the club’s improving defensive structure to carry the load.
Garand holds up in the hard areas
Garand’s early work has been especially sharp on dangerous looks. Among goalies with at least three appearances, his .958 high-danger save percentage is tied with Jacob Markstrom for second in the League, trailing only Jake Oettinger’s .960 mark through five games.
He has not allowed a power-play goal, while New York’s penalty kill is operating at 91.7 percent through eight games, tied for fourth in the NHL. The Rangers also own the fourth-best 5-on-5 save percentage in the League at .940, a number that includes Shesterkin’s four starts but has been supported by Garand’s .953 5-on-5 rate, third among qualifying goalies.
Garand has posted a save percentage above .900 in each of his three starts. He has turned aside 38 of 40 perimeter attempts, carries a .909 save percentage on mid-range shots compared with the League average of .879, and is perfect on long-distance looks, stopping all 18 he has faced.
Lafrenière drives a younger attack
Alexis Lafrenière has supplied the finishing. The first pick of the 2020 NHL Draft has 10 points — seven goals and three assists — in eight games, including a personal-best four-game goal streak. He is the only NHL skater with at least three high-danger goals and three mid-range goals.
Mostly skating on the top line with Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, while also working on the first power-play unit, Lafrenière has been a constant presence around the net and through the middle of the offensive zone.
- 48.3 percent offensive-zone time at all strengths, placing him in the 95th percentile among forwards.
- 69.1 percent offensive-zone time on the power play, in the 99th percentile and seventh in the NHL.
- Three high-danger goals, tied for ninth League-wide and in the 98th percentile.
- Eight high-danger shots on goal, in the 94th percentile.
- Three mid-range goals, tied for third in the NHL and in the 99th percentile.
- Seven mid-range shots on goal, in the 93rd percentile.
- 24.43 miles skated, putting him in the 98th percentile.
Lafrenière is tied for third in the NHL in high-danger scoring chances, defined as attempts carrying a projected goal rate above 12 percent. His six high-danger chances created off the rush — within five seconds of crossing the offensive blue line — lead the League.
The Rangers are the NHL’s seventh-youngest team, with an average age of 27.27, even with established forwards Zibanejad and captain J.T. Miller in the room. That younger group has been asked for more after Artemi Panarin was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings before the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline and Vincent Trocheck was traded to the Utah Mammoth during the offseason.
Pavel Dorofeyev has nine high-danger shots and nine mid-range shots, both in the 96th percentile among forwards, while his 47.2 percent offensive-zone time ranks in the 91st percentile. Perreault has reached at least the 84th percentile in maximum speed at 22.38 mph, high-danger shots with six, mid-range shots with five and offensive-zone start percentage at 43.6.
Will Cuylle is the only NHL player this season with at least 30 hits and five points; he has 37 hits and six points. His 12 high-danger shots are tied for third in the League. Tye Kartye, claimed off waivers Feb. 27, 2026, has seven high-danger shots, placing him in the 90th percentile, and his 63.42 mph average shot speed ranks in the 88th percentile.
Blue line gives New York a foundation
Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov remain the Rangers’ top pairing, with Fox tied for the NHL lead among defensemen with eight assists. His five primary assists lead all blueliners.
New York has allowed 1.75 goals per game, second only to the Dallas Stars at 1.67. That is a dramatic early shift from last season, when the Rangers ranked 15th at 3.04 goals against per game despite getting 51 appearances from Shesterkin.
The new second pair of Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson has helped settle the back end. Through eight games, the two have been on the ice together for just one 5-on-5 goal against. New York is also tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the NHL’s best first-period goal differential at plus-7.
The underlying defensive number is just as encouraging: the Rangers have the League’s lowest projected goal rate against at 4.74 percent, indicating they are limiting opponents to the lowest-quality chances in the NHL.
After the horn
New York ranks eighth in offensive-zone time at 42.3 percent, and Fox is a major reason why. His 48.2 percent offensive-zone time sits in the 97th percentile among defensemen.
The concern is what happens without Shesterkin over the remaining 84-game schedule. The Rangers are 26th among 32 teams in 5-on-5 shot-attempt share at 46.1 percent, a number they will need to raise if Garand is to avoid carrying too much of the nightly workload.
Joonas Korpisalo remains injured, and his return would give the Rangers needed depth in net. After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past two seasons, New York is trying to remain in the chase for the Metropolitan Division’s third postseason berth.
