Sunday is Children's Day at Madison Square Garden, but for the Rangers, it's been “it's all about the kids” for months.
Goaltender Dylan Garand learned after Wednesday's AHL Wolf Pack game that he will make his NHL debut four days later against the Jets at Madison Square Garden, leaving the Blueshirts with at least one rookie at every position heading into Sunday's 3-2 shootout loss to Winnipeg.
For Garland, this was undoubtedly a first game worth remembering.
His workload – 37 shots on goal, 35 saves – was more like a cannonball fired into the abyss than a scratch.
His first penalty opponent? Kyle Connor, a regular 30-goal scorer.
The second one? Gabriel Vilardi had already scored a power-play goal against him earlier in the game.
“That was awesome,” Garland said after two Jets skaters won the shootout, handing him his first loss in the NHL. “It's just surreal. I really just tried to be there and take it all in. It's everything you hope and dream about. It sucks not to win for the guys, but it's a dream come true.”
Garland held his own in the matchup between the 2024 and 2025 Presidents Cup winners, with both men having trouble the following seasons.
Garland looked solid and only gave up a few goals, but there was nothing he could do about it, and he even stopped Conner's breakaway in the second period while shorthanded to bring the Rangers within one goal at the time.
The 23-year-old netminder has been waiting for this moment since making his AHL debut with the Wolf Pack on February 21, 2021.
It took less than five and a half years for Garland to have his moment, since the Rangers drafted him with the 103rd overall pick in 2020. Of course, there are times, like now with Jonathan Quick's injury, when teams could have counted on Garland but chose to go with a more experienced goaltender in their system.
Even earlier this season, the Rangers recalled Spencer Martin — signed in November from the Russian Kontinental Hockey League — instead of Garland. It was a particularly difficult season at Hartford, which may have played a role in the decision to bring Martin up.
However, with the playoffs out of reach and Letter 2.0 already out in the open, the Rangers decided now was Garland's time.
“I've been waiting my whole life to make my NHL debut,” Garland said. “It's so cool when they tell you you're actually going to compete. It's kind of like, 'Okay, this is it. Let's do it.'” I feel like I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, and I'm ready for it. It's been many days [since I found out]but glad they gave me a lot of tips.
“Taking care of my family's flights and hotels and stuff like that, it was pretty stressful the first few days. I had five people [people at MSG]: My mom, my dad, my stepmom, and my goalie coach back from Kamloops and his daughter. “
The Rangers were able to answer every Jets goal with a goal of their own throughout the regular season.
Winnipeg regained the lead on Vilardi's power-play goal at 6:43 of the second period, but the Rangers responded with a goal to tie the score at 2-2.
Mika Zibanejad blasted a one-timer from the best spot in the circle to tie Swede Adam Graves for the fourth-most goals in team history with 280. The Rangers survived the final 20 minutes of regulation thanks in part to Garland's 11 saves.
“It's awesome,” Sullivan said of Garland's debut. “I thought he looked very solid. Calm demeanor, tracked the puck well, rebounded well. He made some big saves for us. I thought he had a really good game.”
