Rangers vs. Jets: Garand Beginnings
Dylan Garand shines in his long-awaited NHL debut, but bigger questions remain about how the Rangers are (and aren’t) evaluating their young players.
- The story of the game was Dylan Garand, even in spite of the shootout loss. And good for him. The guy has been waiting at least two seasons for this opportunity, and he played really well once he got it. He faced 37 shots on goal, so it was a proper New York Rangers introduction for the new goaltender. And neither goal he surrendered was one you could fault him for (I'm not talking about the shootout, because those don't really matter).
- So, now that that's over... what exactly was the point of Spencer Martin? If memory serves, Garand wasn't playing his best hockey at the time Igor Shesterkin went down with his injury. I suppose I can understand wanting to get Garand in a better head space and to get his game to a higher level before throwing him to the wolves or Panthers, in this specific case, the Jets.
- But also, why not? In a bad season that you're still hoping doesn't turn into a lost season—as Joe spelled out in his column on Friday—one of the important things is to see what you have in some of these younger players. Arguably, because none of them are premium prospects, it's even more important to find out what you can about them between now and the end of the season.
