Garand Wins His First Start Without Shesterkin, Gundarah Aims to Be the NCAA’s Best Goalie
Plus: Jonas Neffin's fourth shutout in five games for Eisbären Berlin, Devin Cooley brings his rabbit to the rink, Jaeden Nelson follows a shutout with 41 saves, Terry Sawchuk's 200th win on this day in 1955, and a birthday for Dwayne Roloson.
In this edition 8 stories
NHLGarand wins the Rangers' first game without Shesterkin
A day after Igor Shesterkin was ruled out for the season, Dylan Garand got the start at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and turned aside 19 of the 21 shots Vancouver sent his way in a 6-2 Rangers win. (NHL box score) He has won both of his starts this season, which makes him the eighth rookie goalie in Rangers history to win his first two starts and only the third in 40 years. The one before him was Shesterkin, in 2019-20. (Rangers game notes)
Shesterkin’s injury is to his right knee, and he will need surgery followed by a long rehab, a source told Vincent Z. Mercogliano on Sunday. That is why the Rangers are not expecting him back this season. (Vincent Z. Mercogliano on X)
Garand gave the credit to the room: “I think it’s just a ton of buy-in from our group.” New York is now 4-0-0 at home. (NHL.com) His teammates sounded sure of him. “He made some timely saves for us, and looked really confident,” Gabe Perreault said, and Tye Kartye, who scored twice, added: “I think G’s ready, so we’re all standing behind him and really looking forward to playing in front of him.” (DAZN)
His backup on Sunday was Spencer Martin, 31, whom the Rangers called up from Hartford earlier in the day. The Oakville, Ont., native has played 267 AHL games across six organizations. (Hartford Wolf Pack)
On InGoal: Dylan Garand’s Pro Reads, Dylan Garand’s Carey Price-Inspired Key to Crease Movement, and InGoal Radio Episode 153 with Spencer Martin.
NHLAround the league
- Joey Daccord stopped 33 of 36 shots as Seattle won 5-3 in Washington on Sunday (NHL box score), 17 of those saves coming in the third period. “Joey stood on his head a little bit and we scored five, and that was enough,” said Ben Meyers. (NHL.com) His biggest one came against Boone Jenner with a little under nine minutes left in a tied game, shortly before Jared McCann scored the winner. (Kraken)
- Devin Cooley walked into the Saddledome before Saturday’s game against Anaheim with his pet rabbit, Tito, dressed in a Flames shirt of his own. It was part of a night supporting the Calgary Humane Society, and teammates arrived with shelter dogs looking for homes. Cooley runs Tito’s Instagram account. (NHL.com)
- Jake Oettinger is the NHL’s second star of the week. The Dallas goalie allowed one goal on 60 shots in three starts (2-0-1, .983), with shutouts of San Jose and Buffalo before Pittsburgh ended his career-best shutout run on Saturday. His 186 wins are the third most in Stars/North Stars history. (NHL.com)
On InGoal: Joey Daccord’s Pro Reads, and Cooley on why he is thinking about a black glove pocket in Would a Black Pocket Have Hidden It?
AHLPostava named the AHL's Player of the Week
Grand Rapids goalie Michal Postava is the AHL’s Player of the Week after two wins in which he stopped 58 of 60 shots (.967). He made 36 saves in a 2-1 win over Manitoba in the Griffins’ home opener on Friday, against a team that had scored 11 goals in its first two games, then stopped 22 in a 5-1 win over Chicago on Sunday and picked up an assist. The 24-year-old from Valašské Meziříčí, Czechia, was never drafted. Detroit signed him as a free agent in June 2025, and last season he shared the Hap Holmes Award after the Griffins allowed the fewest goals in the AHL. He is 3-0-0 this season with a .950 save percentage. (AHL, The AHL on X)
CollegeSacred Heart's Gundarah sets out to be the NCAA's best goalie
Ajeet Gundarah is not shy about his goal for his junior season at Sacred Heart. “I have expectation to be the best goalie in the country,” the 23-year-old told NHL.com’s William Douglas. No NHL team drafted him, and he treats that as motivation: “I definitely see it as another thing to try to prove people wrong.” He also expects to turn pro when the season ends: “I have every expectation to sign a contract after this year wherever it may be.” (NHL.com)
Last season he was the top goalie in Atlantic Hockey America in both save percentage (.928, seventh in Division I) and goals-against average (2.09), even though two high ankle sprains cost him time, and the conference made him its preseason player of the year this fall. Gundarah grew up in Richmond, B.C., idolizing Roberto Luongo, and later looked to Juuse Saros and Dustin Wolf, two goalies who succeeded without great size. He is 6-foot. Before college he won the BCHL’s top-goalie award in 2023-24 and backstopped Surrey to the 2024 Fred Page Cup as BCHL champions. Coach C.J. Marottolo compares his compete level to Tim Thomas’s: “Now that I’ve had Ajeet for two years, I see it.” (NHL.com)
InternationalNeffin's fourth shutout in five games keeps Eisbären Berlin on top
In the DEL, Germany’s top league, Jonas Neffin kept another opponent off the scoreboard on Sunday as Eisbären Berlin won 3-0 at the Fischtown Pinguins in Bremerhaven. It was his fourth shutout in five games this season, and the defending champions’ sixth win in a row widened their lead at the top of the table. (PENNY DEL, dpa via Tagesspiegel) His best save came on a Bremerhaven power play, when he denied Colt Conrad. Defenceman Jonas Müller, who opened the scoring, said his goalie had again played a great game and made some excellent saves (translated from German). (Eishockey-Online)
On InGoal: his third shutout, on Friday, in the Oct. 10 Goalie News.
JuniorNelson follows his shutout with 41 saves in Brantford
A day after shutting out Erie, Ottawa 67’s goalie Jaeden Nelson, 19, was back in net on Sunday in Brantford and made 41 saves, 16 of them in the third period. The Bulldogs outshot Ottawa 44-20. Nelson then allowed one goal on three shootout attempts, and the 67’s won 4-3. (OHL game report)
HistorySawchuk and Chico Resch both won their 200th on Oct. 12
On this day in 1955, Terry Sawchuk stopped all 23 shots in a 2-0 Bruins win over Toronto. It was his first win and first shutout for Boston, and it made him the 10th goalie in NHL history to reach 200 career wins. (Hockey Vintage on X) Sawchuk had lost his first two games as a Bruin, both to Montreal, after Detroit traded him to Boston that summer. The goalie he beat that night, Harry Lumley, was third in career wins at the time. (NHL stats)
Twenty-nine years later to the day, in 1984, Glenn “Chico” Resch won his 200th game against the team he started with. He made 28 saves as the New Jersey Devils beat the Islanders 7-2, and he became the 26th goalie in NHL history to reach 200 wins. Resch won 157 games over parts of eight seasons on Long Island and was part of the Islanders’ first Stanley Cup in 1980. A trade in March 1981 sent him to the Colorado Rockies, the franchise that moved to New Jersey and became the Devils in 1982. (NHL stats, Wikipedia)
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 162 with Glenn “Chico” Resch.
Birthdays
Happy birthday to former Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild goalie Dwayne Roloson (57).
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 301 with Dwayne Roloson.
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