The Rangers beat Philadelphia 3-2 on Thursday for their second straight win, after a four-game losing streak. Dylan Garand made 23 saves. New York is 9-7-1, and 5-5-1 since Igor Shesterkin was hurt in Washington on Oct. 9, an injury the team announced would end his season.
In early October we wrote that the Rangers looked like last October all over again, a roster leaning on Shesterkin with a power play as its one new strength. Two days later the goaltender it leaned on was gone. A team built that way might have collapsed. The Rangers have played .500 hockey instead, and the reason is a penalty kill that leads the league.
How has Garand held up?
About as well as anyone could have asked. Garand played three NHL games last season. He has appeared in 13 of New York's 17 games, with a .905 save percentage, and MoneyPuck has him 1.3 goals above expected across all situations before Thursday. At five-on-five he has been slightly below average, 2.5 goals below expected.
Since the injury his save percentage is .896, and the four-game losing streak, to Toronto, Ottawa, Los Angeles and Edmonton, came with 22 goals against. The two wins since have come on 55 saves from 58 shots.
| New York goaltending, 2026-27 | Games | Save % | Goals saved above expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Igor Shesterkin | 5 | .927 | +5.0 |
| Dylan Garand | 12 | .905 | +1.3 |
Per MoneyPuck, before Thursday. Joonas Korpisalo, who was also injured in October, is on injured reserve until at least Nov. 9.
Why is the penalty kill so good?
Both halves of it are working. New York kills 90.4 per cent of its penalties, first in the league, and has allowed five power-play goals at four-on-five. It allows chances at the sixth-lowest rate when shorthanded, and its goaltenders are stopping 91.1 per cent of shots on the kill, fourth-best. On a team without its star goaltender, that is the difference between a .500 record and a losing one.
What about five-on-five?
Middle of the pack. The Rangers have 52 per cent of the five-on-five expected goals, 14th, and have been outscored 32-30. Adam Fox has 19 points and the Rangers have 59 per cent of the expected goals with him on the ice. Alexis Lafrenière leads the team with nine goals.
| New York forward lines, five-on-five, 2026-27 | Minutes | Expected goals share | Goals for-against |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lafrenière, Zibanejad, Perreault | 136 | 58% | 6-3 |
| Cuylle, Laba, Tolvanen | 108 | 46% | 3-2 |
| Kartye, Miller, Dorofeyev | 77 | 62% | 4-5 |
The weak spot is the second pair. Marcus Pettersson and Sean Durzi are at 44 per cent over 190 minutes, and Durzi is now on injured reserve until at least Nov. 9.
The case for patience, stated fairly
The case for optimism is that the Rangers have been close to even at five-on-five, lead the league on the penalty kill and have a goaltender playing above what anyone expected. Korpisalo returns soon, and J.T. Miller's line is at 62 per cent and due more than its 4-5 goal record.
The other side is that a .896 save percentage since the injury is not enough for a team that does not dominate play, and penalty kills that run at 90 per cent rarely stay there all season. The power play is converting 18.6 per cent, 22nd, despite creating the third-most chances in the league at five-on-four.
Our view is that the Rangers should stop hoping the goaltending holds and go and get a veteran who can split the starts with Garand. The skaters are doing enough to stay in the race. The crease will decide whether they are still in it in March.
What to watch
New York starts a western trip in Seattle on Saturday, then Edmonton on Monday and Calgary on Wednesday. Watch Garand's workload and whether Korpisalo is back in time for the back half. Every Rangers number is on the team stats page, and the Metropolitan race is on the standings.