Colin Stephenson: Joonas Korpisalo is returning soon, but can Rangers survive their new goaltending normal?
Rangers goaltender Dylan Garand stands in front of the net after Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard scored in the second period of an NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Igor Shesterkin isn’t coming back this season, but Joonas Korpisalo is, and he will be available soon. While getting Korpisalo back certainly won’t equate to having Shesterkin back, it will give the Rangers a chance to see what their new goaltending normal is going to be and whether they’ll be able to survive with it.
Rookie Dylan Garand again started in goal on Sunday night in the Rangers’ 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at the Garden, the Blueshirts’ fourth straight loss after a fast start.
It was Garand’s eighth start in nine games since Shesterkin went down with a season-ending lower-body injury in Washington on Oct. 9. In the one game he didn’t start, last Monday against the Los Angeles Kings, he came on in relief of a clearly not ready James Reimer after the first period.
A goalie room of Korpisalo, Garand and Reimer isn’t especially inspiring for a Rangers team that has hopes of chasing a playoff spot this season. But barring a trade for a bigger name, this is what it will be for the next 69 games.
Garand had five days in between his last appearance and Sunday, including two complete days off, so he was well-rested and mentally recharged. But that didn’t help when Connor McDavid came flying up the right wing in the first minute of the game, danced around Vladislav Gavrikov and scored from close range 50 seconds after puck drop.
Things got worse later in the first period when Colton Dach threw a low-danger turnaround shot that somehow slithered between Garand’s pads at the 6:19 mark to make it 2-0.
“Tough, tough way to start,” Garand said. “And then I thought that second goal was awful. So disappointing . . . Can’t spot those guys two goals. Disappointing, and I feel like I let the team down a little bit with my start tonight.”
It was the Rangers’ sixth loss in seven games (1-5-1).
The good news for Garand is that he picked up his game after that bad start and finished strong. After allowing two goals on the first four shots, he gave up only one more on the next 19. The Oilers added an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Sunday was the first of four games in a seven-day span, and if the Rangers (7-7-1) don’t find two goalies they can count on this week, things could go south really quickly.
Someone is going to have to step up, stop some pucks and give the Rangers a chance to win, whether it is Korpisalo, acquired from Boston during the summer to be Shesterkin’s backup; Garand, who started the season in the minors before Korpisalo’s injury forced the Rangers to recall him, or Reimer, who was signed a week ago after a brief tryout with the Rangers’ Hartford farm team.
Coach Mike Sullivan was asked Saturday if Korpisalo, a 12-year veteran with 334 career games, a 3.06 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage, is an option to play this week or whether he might need a tuneup game in Hartford first.
“It’s a conversation that we’re having here over this last little while,” he said. “The biggest step here is to get him healthy where we have the ability to put them in the net. And then trying to decide what’s the best course of action both for him and our team.”
The Rangers have home games Tuesday and Thursday, then leave Friday for a trip to Seattle and Western Canada that begins with a game against the Kraken on Saturday. Hartford has a game Wednesday in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which — if they deem it necessary — would seem like an opportunity to get Korpisalo some reps before the Blueshirts leave for the road trip.
For Garand, who had only 13 NHL games on his resume entering Sunday, all the hockey he’s played in the last three weeks may turn out to have been too much too soon for a 24-year-old just breaking into the league.
Having Korpisalo back, besides giving Sullivan another option in goal, will help Garand by reducing the physical and mental burden he’s been carrying since Shesterkin went down.
On Saturday, Garand sounded happy to have Korpisalo back in the locker room. He seemed to welcome the support that having a goalie partner will offer.
“He’s honestly an awesome guy,” Garand said. “I love hanging out with him. Now that we’re kind of skating together, it’s awesome. He’s such a positive guy, and I think we really kind of feed off each other. And we’re getting closer and closer each day.”
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
