Rangers 2, Red Wings 0: Garand's First Shutout Spoils Opening Night

October 2, 2026 - Detroit - Dylan Garand stood in Little Caesars Arena for a first NHL start and never let a puck past him. Twenty-two saves. Sixty minutes. The building opened a season and left with a 2-0 loss.

The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings on TNT, spoiled Detroit's opener, and finished a back-to-back after beating Tampa Bay 5-1 on Thursday. New York is 2-1-0. Detroit is 0-1-0.

Sean Durzi scored the only goal John Gibson saw. Eeli Tolvanen hit the empty net with 1:16 left. The Associated Press called it Garand's first career shutout. The NHL box matched: 22 saves, 22 shots, a win.

A slap shot from the slot, then 50 quiet minutes

Detroit took a holding penalty at 3:31 of the first. Durzi did not wait. At 5:12 he ripped a power-play slap shot from the high slot. Gabe Perreault won the primary assist. Will Cuylle got the second. 1-0.

Gibson stopped 19 of 20. He was still in at 59:02 when Detroit pulled him. The other Rangers goal never tested him. Tolvanen's wrist shot found the empty net at 18:44 of the third, with helpers from Tye Kartye and Adam Fox.

Between those two goals, the night was about Garand. Detroit put 22 shots on him. New York put 21 on Gibson. The shot chart was even. The scoreboard was not.

The first period had more than the Durzi goal. Detroit took holding at 3:31, then a pile of roughing and unsportsmanlike minors at 5:38, 26 seconds after the Rangers scored. New York took a matching unsportsmanlike. Later in the first Cuylle's club took a cross-checking minor. None of that produced a second Rangers goal. The second period opened with a New York tripping penalty at 0:47. Detroit could not cash it. A hooking minor on Detroit at 12:13 of the second sat on the same stoppage as the Durzi-Kasper fight. The third opened with a Detroit slashing minor at 1:28. Still 1-0. The extra attacker was the only other look Gibson never had a chance on.

Fox played 22:50, the heaviest Rangers ice in the box. Durzi played 19:19 and still found the one shot that mattered. Perreault played 15:24 with an assist, two shots, and two blocks. Tolvanen needed 11:26 and one shot for the empty-netter. Attendance was 19,515. TNT and truTV had the opener.

Opening night without Larkin, and a fight that woke the building

The AP recap filled in the room around the box. Former captain Dylan Larkin is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, retroactive to Aug. 15, after requesting a trade. Restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned. Larkin, in street clothes, was booed in pregame introductions. After Durzi scored, some fans chanted at owner Chris Ilitch.

The building got louder in the second. Marco Kasper fought Durzi at 12:13. Both took five for fighting. Durzi finished with 7 PIM, which is why his AthX Engine line (1 G, 2 SOG, 1 BLK, 1 PPG) lands at 4.45 instead of a clean power-play celebration.

Kasper played 10:50, put four shots on Garand, and did not score. John Gibson was fine. One goal against in 59:02 is a loss only because the other end was a wall.

Igor Shesterkin was on the boxscore and did not play (0:00). Thursday he had scored a goalie goal at the Garden, per the AP. Friday Garand got the net on the second night of a back-to-back after going 2-0-1 in three appearances last season.

AthX Engine on a 22-save shutout

AthX Engine scores NHL goalies for the win, saves, goals against, and a shutout bonus. Garand's 13.80 leads this game. Gibson's 19 saves against one goal are 6.40. Tolvanen is 5.10. Perreault (unlisted on some AthX boards) is 4.70 from the box. Durzi is 4.45. Fox is 4.20. New York's team line is 16.40 (win, two goals for, none against). Detroit floors at 0.

Fantasy points measure what happened on the ice. Price is what traders will pay for a Rangers club that just went 2-1-0 in three games, and for a Red Wings share priced around an opener that never found a goal. They move together. They are not the same number.

New York hosts Utah on Sunday. Detroit hosts Winnipeg the same afternoon. Track Durzi, Tolvanen, Fox, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com scoreboard, NHL gamecenter boxscore 2026020017. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from that verified box. Information only; not financial advice.*