Fowler Blanks Detroit Through Six Shootout Rounds, Zajíček Becomes the First P-Bruins Goalie Credited With a Goal

NHLSullivan on Garand: 'He's going to get an opportunity'

The Rangers play their first game without Igor Shesterkin on Sunday, at home to Vancouver, and Dylan Garand is expected to start it, the New York Post’s Zach Braziller reported after Saturday’s practice. Coach Mike Sullivan liked what he had seen: “He’s a good goalie. Every time we’ve put him in the net, certainly since I’ve been here, he’s made timely saves.” He added: “We think he’s very capable, and he’s going to get an opportunity here.” (New York Post via Yahoo Sports)

Garand’s two weeks have moved fast. New York put the 24-year-old on waivers on Sept. 27, then called him up from Hartford on Oct. 1 when Joonas Korpisalo went on injured reserve, and Korpisalo is still about a month away. Garand called the Shesterkin news hard on the team and said he was “excited for the opportunity, going to put my heart and soul on the line for these guys and this city every night.” Captains Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad have spoken up for him, which he said “makes me want to battle for them even more.” (New York Post via Yahoo Sports) After Vancouver, Tampa Bay visits Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. (Rangers)

On InGoal: Dylan Garand’s Pro Reads, Dylan Garand’s Carey Price-Inspired Key to Crease Movement, and the injury news in yesterday’s Goalie News.

NHLVasilevskiy passes Moog and has 20th in career wins to himself

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves in Tampa Bay’s 5-3 win over the Islanders on Saturday. It was the 373rd regular-season win of his career, which breaks the tie with Andy Moog he reached on Monday and leaves him alone in 20th on the NHL’s all-time list. John Vanbiesbrouck is next, at 374. Vasilevskiy is 3-1 so far this season. (NHL.com, NHL Records)

NHLJake Allen wins his 500th game, joining Brodeur and Markstrom

Before his 500th NHL game on Saturday, Jake Allen found his wife and three daughters waiting for him in the Devils’ dressing room, his teammates arrived in “Allen 500” shirts and hats, and he got a lap of the ice to himself in warmups. A mask, blocker, and glove made for the occasion were also part of the day. (Devils)

Then he beat Vancouver 4-1 with 20 saves. (NHL box score) Martin Brodeur and Jacob Markstrom are the only other Devils goalies to win their 500th game. Allen’s best moments came against Jake DeBrusk in the second period, a left pad on his backhand and later a glove save. (NHL.com) “There was a point where I didn’t know if I was going to hit it,” Allen said, and of his daughters: “I think an exciting moment for (my girls), which means the most.” (Devils) He also told Mike G. Morreale: “I’ve extended my career a lot longer than I thought possible and I’m pretty proud of that.” (NHL.com)

On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 276 with Jake Allen and Jake Allen’s Pro Reads.

NHLMatt Murray's wait ends with 18 saves in his Predators debut

Matt Murray had not played an NHL game since Jan. 8, 2024. On Saturday in Ottawa he made his first start for Nashville, the fifth NHL game of his career, and stopped 18 shots. Nashville scored twice in the first period, Ottawa tied it with 1:23 left in the third, and the Senators won 3-2 in a shootout. “He’s pretty much the reason why we’re still in that game,” Jonathan Marchessault said. (NHL.com)

The 28-year-old from St. Albert, Alta., was never drafted. He signed with Nashville on July 1, 2024, and spent the last two seasons in the AHL with Milwaukee. (NHL.com) He got the start because Juuse Saros had played all four of Nashville’s games and Justus Annunen is hurt. (The Tennessean via Yahoo Sports) Coach Andrew Brunette called it “awesome” and said: “He’s been a true pro ever since I’ve known him for the last three years, to come in and play that way is pretty incredible.” (Predators)

NHLUllmark joins a short Senators list, and around the league

• Linus Ullmark made 16 saves in that shootout win over Nashville and is 4-0-0. He is the fourth Senators goalie to win at least his first four games of a season, after Ray Emery, Dominik Hasek, and Martin Gerber. (NHL.com)
• Pittsburgh finally scored on Jake Oettinger, ending his scoreless run at 188:52, the longest of his career and third-longest in Stars history. “Eight shutout periods? You can’t ask for more than that,” coach Glen Gulutzan said. At the other end, Arturs Silovs made 24 saves and stopped Jason Robertson in the first round of the shootout as the Penguins won 2-1. (NHL.com)
• Leevi Meriläinen had to leave Vancouver’s net in New Jersey at 14:33 of the first period when the blade came away from his skate boot. (NHL.com) Kevin Lankinen covered the last 5:27 of the period, and Meriläinen came back for the rest of the night and finished with 31 saves. (NHL box score)
• Karel Vejmelka made 23 saves in Utah’s 4-1 win in Buffalo (NHL.com). At 9:51 of the second period, after Peyton Krebs reached under his glove for a loose puck, Vejmelka took Krebs’s stick and threw it into the netting, which earned him a 10-minute misconduct (Deseret News, NHL play-by-play). Mackenzie Weegar fought Krebs later in the period.

On InGoal: Linus Ullmark’s Pro Reads, InGoal Radio Episode 176 with Jake Oettinger, InGoal Radio Episode 205 with Arturs Silovs and Samuel Ersson, and Pro Drills with Karel Vejmelka and Jaxson Stauber.

AHLZajíček is the first Providence goalie credited with a goal, Clara's record shutout for San Diego

Providence led Charlotte 4-2 late on Saturday when Šimon Zajíček made a save on a shot from the point. The Checkers, with their goalie pulled, collected the rebound, and a pass that missed its man slid the full length of the rink into their own empty net. Zajíček was the last Bruin to touch the puck, so the goal is his, and no Providence goalie had ever been credited with one before. (Providence Bruins) It came at 16:49 of the third and made it 5-2 in a 6-2 win. He stopped 30 of 32 shots and was the game’s first star. (AHL game report) The 25-year-old from Frýdlant, Czechia, was never drafted. (InGoal profile)

In San Diego, Anaheim Ducks prospect Damian Clara, 21, stopped all 25 Henderson shots in the Gulls’ 2-0 home-opening win. It was his first AHL shutout, and it came in his sixth start, sooner than any Gulls goalie before him. Assistant coach Kelly Buchberger said Clara “was squared to pucks” and made the plays he needed to, especially once Henderson pulled its goalie. (Gulls release via OurSports Central) Clara, from Brunico, Italy, was a second-round pick in 2023. (InGoal profile)

On InGoal: Zajíček’s goal and every other one by a goalie, AHL included, on our Goalie Goals page.

CollegeU18 gold medallist Grenier's first NCAA shutout for Minnesota Duluth

With senior Eve Gascon away at Canada’s national women’s team camp in Quebec City, which runs through Oct. 14, Minnesota Duluth turned to freshman Marilou Grenier for its WCHA-opening weekend against St. Thomas. Like Gascon, Grenier comes from Quebec, and she was in goal when Canada won gold at the U18 Women’s World Championship in January 2025. (UMD Athletics) After a 2-1 loss on Friday, she stopped all 24 shots on Saturday in a 3-0 win that split the series. It was her first college shutout and her first win as a starter. (Duluth News Tribune)

Around the NCAA

• Penn State sophomore Maddy Campbell made 30 saves in a 4-0 win at Syracuse, eight of them during penalty kills in the second period. It was her first shutout this season and fifth in her career. (Penn State Athletics)
• Jack Parsons stopped all 25 shots as No. 9 Providence beat Clarkson 4-0. (Clarkson Athletics)

U SPORTSA Dalhousie lab studies what happens to goalies' bodies under their gear

The Dalhousie Gazette recently ran a story on Professor Ryan Frayne’s lab at Dalhousie University. InGoal has been privileged to know Frayne for several years, and his work has touched some of our gear reviews, so we wanted to share it with our readers.

Dalhousie University’s goalies have started wearing a 3D motion-capture suit beneath all of their equipment, which tracks the whole body as they move. Researchers in the school’s kinesiology lab use it to work out where the strain and the hard landings on the ice add up, and which positions put the hips at risk, before any of it becomes an injury. “The goaltenders can wear their full equipment, and we still get an idea of what their bodies are doing,” said Frayne, an associate professor and former goalie whose research fed into CCM’s goalie equipment over a 13-year partnership. (Dalhousie Gazette)

The software the Tigers use to analyze their goalies was written by Matt Warburton, a Halifax sports scientist who consults for the Pittsburgh Penguins and will help steer the work toward safer gear. Jasmine Kwan, a master’s student who spent six seasons in the Tigers’ net, now sees it from the lab side. Goalies were long known for bad hips, she pointed out, but she is seeing more knee injuries now and suspects changes in equipment may be moving the load: “Technology is changing everything with what we are putting in the gear.” (Ryan Bradbury, Dalhousie Gazette)

On InGoal: Frayne walked us through his research on the mobility and protection of chest and arm protectors on InGoal Radio Episode 32 in 2019.

InternationalArmalis blanks Jokerit for his fourth Liiga shutout of the season

Ilves’ Mantas Armalis needed just 16 saves for a 3-0 win in Helsinki on Saturday, his fourth shutout of the season. The 34-year-old Lithuanian leads every Liiga goalie in shutouts and in save percentage, at .957. (MTV Uutiset)

On InGoal: how he became the oldest player of the month in Liiga history, in the Oct. 5 Goalie News.

JuniorJets pick Hrenak stops 74 of 76 in a Fargo sweep, Nelson blanks Erie

Samuel Hrenak, the Winnipeg Jets’ third-round pick in June, made 40 saves in a 3-2 win at Sioux Falls on Friday (InForum), then shut out the Stampede 5-0 with 34 more on Saturday in Fargo, the Force’s fourth straight win. (InForum) The 18-year-old Slovak went 71st overall and took Slovakia to the gold-medal game at the 2026 U18 World Championship. (InGoal profile)

In the OHL, Erie outshot the Ottawa 67’s 36-29 on Saturday, and Jaeden Nelson, 19, stopped all 36 in a 3-0 win. (Erie Otters) He was the first star. (OHL game report)

On InGoal: Hrenak’s draft story in 2026 NHL Draft Goalies: 32 Picks, 32 Stories.

Have goalie news from your league, a big save, a signing, or a coaching hire? Send it to news@ingoalmag.com.