Dylan Garand absolutely stonewalled the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, making 23 saves for his first career shutout as the New York Rangers opened Detroit’s season with a 2-0 victory. This was Garand’s first start of the year after logging a solid 2-0-1 record in three appearances with the Rangers last season, and he looked sharp as heck.
Rangers Roll On, Detroit’s Drama Unfolds
New York was already playing their third game of the season, and it was the second half of a back-to-back for them. They were coming off a dominant 5-1 home win against Tampa Bay on Thursday, a game where even goaltender Igor Shesterkin found the back of the net. Sean Durzi got the scoring started for the Rangers with a power-play goal at 5:12 in the first period, firing one in from the high slot off a feed from Gabe Perreault. Eeli Tolvanen sealed the deal with his second goal of the season, an empty-netter with just 1:16 left on the clock. Detroit’s John Gibson actually had a solid night, stopping 19 shots, but it just wasn’t enough to crack Garand.
Motor City Meltdown: Unsigned Stars and Fan Fury
The Red Wings’ home opener was a mess before the puck even dropped, and it certainly didn’t get better for their fans. They kicked off the season without two key players. Former captain Dylan Larkin, who’s been pushing for a trade, was out with an upper-body injury, placed on injured reserve all the way back on August 15. Then there’s Simon Edvinsson, one of Detroit’s top defensemen, who’s still an unsigned restricted free agent with negotiations stalled. The crowd was absolutely livid. Larkin, chilling in street clothes, got booed during the pregame intros, which is just brutal to hear. And after Durzi’s power-play goal, some seriously fed-up fans started chanting “Sell the team!”, directing their frustration right at owner Chris Ilitch. Credit where it’s due, the Detroit faithful did get a bit more supportive when the Wings finally started putting some pressure on Garand and when Marco Kasper dropped the gloves with Durzi midway through the second period, but the damage was done.
Up next, the Rangers are back home on Sunday to host Utah, while the Red Wings will try to shake off this rough start when they host Winnipeg on Sunday. It’s early in the season, but that Detroit opener was something else, huh?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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