Rangers rookie Dylan Garand shuts out Red Wings one week after he was cut

DETROIT — And on the Rangers’ third game in four nights, Dylan Garand pitched his first career shutout. 

The rookie netminder will be the Blueshirts backup goalie to start October after all, after the club put Joonas Korpisalo on injured reserve before their home opener. Just two practices later in Hartford, Garand was already on his way back to New York before he made his season debut in a 2-0 win over the Red Wings on Friday night. 

Access the Rangers beat like never before

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.

tRY IT NOW

Suddenly, the so-called competition for the spot behind Igor Shesterkin during preseason is irrelevant. 

Garand may not have officially won the No. 2 job out of camp, but the 24-year-old sure looked capable of changing that following a 23-save performance Friday night. 

Amid a litany of concerns for the Red Wings organization, Little Caesars Arena didn’t have nearly as much juice as Madison Square Garden did for the Rangers home opener. Detroit is still trying to stabilize after transitioning front-office staple Steve Yzerman into an advisory role and promoting assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff on an interim basis. 

Red Wings fans in attendance let the organization know just how they feel about the team and Dylan Larkin, who was stripped of his captaincy after he requested a trade this summer. 

In street clothes during player introductions due to an injury, Larkin was booed incessantly. 

The lack of enthusiasm in the building was beneficial for the Rangers early in the first period. Earning the first power play of the night, the Rangers capitalized when Sean Durzi recorded his first goal as a Ranger on a laser shot from the high slot. 

A “sell the team” chant promptly reverberated around the lower bowl in response. 

While the Rangers controlled play for the majority of the opening frame, it was all Detroit in the final minutes. The Red Wings posted the last six shots on goal — not including Anton Johansson’s shot off the far post — heading into the first intermission, but they weren’t able to break through. 

Eeli Tolvanen scored an empty-net goal to give the Rangers some insurance in the end. 

Garand was sharp in his season debut. While it came sooner than expected, after he was waived and assigned to AHL Hartford to start the season, Garand looked ready. 

The Rangers placed Korpisalo on injured reserve with an undisclosed lower-body injury on Thursday and had to recall Garand just five days after cutting him. Mike Sullivan said he and Garand have had numerous conversations throughout the entire process, with the Rangers head coach assuring that the Canadian goaltender knows the organization believes in him. 

The belief Garand already has in himself, however, has been evident since he made his NHL debut late last season.