Dylan Garand makes his case in uphill battle to be Rangers backup goalie

But Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan gave Garand a full preseason game to make his case Monday, and Garand held his own for nearly 58 minutes — with a group of mostly AHL players in front of him — against the Devils' NHL lineup. And then Jack Hughes , with his 35 points in 26 regular-season games against the Rangers, snuck the game-winning goal past him in the Blueshirts' 3-2 loss at Prudential Center in the exhibition opener. Garand finished with 27 saves and flashed plenty of good before Hughes' tally with 2:12 remaining.

"Yeah, maybe," Garand said when asked if he thought he made a statement. "I mean I've just tried to, every day just try and give it my best and work hard and compete. … There's so much out of my control, so I'm really just trying to limit that outside noise inside my head and just battle and lay it all out there."

There were plenty of moments where the 24-year-old maximized getting a full game. With the game tied at 2 in the third period after Drew Fortescue equalized, Garand stopped Hughes when the Devils star had an open shooting lane. When New Jersey had a power play late in the first period, Garand helped the Rangers escape without allowing a goal. The Devils had shifts with strong chances, Sullivan said, and "I thought Dylan made some timely saves in those scenarios."