Garand gets first NHL shutout, Rangers blank Red Wings

DETROIT -- Dylan Garand made 22 saves for his first NHL shutout, and the New York Rangers defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.

The 24-year-old got the shutout in his fourth NHL game. He went 2-0-1 in three games late last season for New York, which was playing its third game in four nights to open the season.

“This has been the craziest week of my life,” he said. “I got cut Sunday and put on waivers, I cleared Monday and went to Hartford and found an apartment, had two practices there, then got called back up and I’m playing on Friday.”

Garand, who was taken by the Rangers in the fourth round (No. 103) of the 2020 NHL Draft, couldn’t beat out Joonas Korpisalo for a roster spot as Igor Shesterkin’s backup. Korpisalo, though, ended up on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and Garland hurried back.

“This week speaks volumes about his character,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “Pro sports are competitive and things don’t always go your way. You have to work through the ebbs and flows, and I really have great admiration for how Dylan handled this whole situation.”

Sean Durzi and Eeli Tolvanen scored to help New York (2-1-0) win for the second straight night after a 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

John Gibson made 19 saves for the Red Wings in their season opener. 

Detroit played without Dylan Larkin (upper-body injury) and defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a restricted free agent who has returned to Sweden after not reaching an agreement with the team.

“We’re going to have to score some goals to win games,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “We had some good looks, but not nearly enough. The players here have to understand that - we can’t rely on 3-4 guys.”

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Durzi at 5:12. It was the defenseman’s first goal with New York after being traded from the Utah Mammoth on July 1 as part of the Vincent Trocheck deal.

“When you come to a new team, you prepare yourself for any situation,” Durzi said. “You put the work in so when they call your name for an offensive situation or a defensive situation, you’re ready. So far, they trust me to do that, and that gives me confidence.”

Durzi appeared to score a second power-play goal at 7:10, but it was overturned after the Red Wings challenged for offside.

“The first 10 minutes was a team playing their third game against a team that hadn’t played in a week,” McLellan said. “We got into penalty and we were 100 percent back on our heels, but then we got going.”

Red Wings defenseman Anton Johansson, making his NHL debut, hit the post later in the first period.

“That was close,” he said. “I think (Andrew Copp) got a tip on it, but unfortunately, it just didn’t go in.”

Tolvanen scored his second goal of the season into the empty net at 18:44 for the 2-0 final.

The Red Wings had 20 shots through two periods but managed only two in the third.

“I thought we dominated the second half of the first period and the second period,” defenseman Moritz Seider said. “We didn’t bury our chances, though, and in the third period, we were always one or two passes away from making something happen.” 

NOTES: Durzi’s goal ended one of the odder statistics in NHL history. Thanks to Shesterkin’s goalie goal on Thursday against the Lightning, New York’s goalies had scored more goals (one) than the team’s defensemen (zero). … Garand’s 22 saves were the most by a Rangers rookie in a shutout since Shesterkin made 27 in a 3-0 win against the New Jersey Devils on April 13, 2021.