The New York Rangers have been waiting for goaltending reinforcements ever since Igor Shesterkin suffered his season-ending knee injury in Washington D.C. back in October. Dylan Garand has had to put the team on his shoulders and start every game. That's because Joonas Korpisalo was working his way back from a foot infection that sidelined him since the start of the season.
On Wednesday, the Rangers announced that they were sending Korpisalo down to the AHL to begin a conditioning stint. After skating with the Rangers in recent days, it was a step in the right direction for Korpisalo, with this conditioning assignment with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Korpisalo started immediately for the Wolf Pack on Wednesday night, where he took on the Hershey Bears. So, how did he play in his first official start of the season?
Joonas Korpisalo had an eventful first conditioning start for Rangers
Korpisalo was, well, left out to dry of sorts, as he faced 37 shots on goal from Hershey. Korpisalo managed to stop 34 of those shots. However, he surrendered three goals in Hartford's 4-1 loss to Hershey. He didn't get much help from the Wolf Pack offense, who only mustered 15 shots on goal.
The good thing is that Korpisalo did stop the majority of the onslaught of shots faced. It may have helped to see how he could play in a tightly contested game. But Hartford didn't provide him with that opportunity.
This is essentially the story of the Wolf Pack. Last year, they were a disaster, which led to the Rangers pushing to improve their prospect pool. Then, they hired Jay Leach as their head coach, who has built a reputation as a true developer of talent. So, the Wolf Pack are a work in progress.
This season, the Wolf Pack have surrendered 30 shots on goal a game more often than not. Let's not forget that James Reimer received his opportunity with the Rangers after he recorded a 35-save shutout during his professional tryout contract.
When can Rangers fans expect to see Joonas Korpisalo make his debut?
The Rangers are in a bit of a conundrum. Not a major one, but one where they have to come up with a decision. Are they going to bring Korpisalo up as soon as possible to give Garand a rest? Entering Thursday night, Garand is expected to make his 12th consecutive appearance for the Rangers. At some point he'll need to rest up. Remember, they tried that by giving Reimer a start, only to abandon that plan after one period when he surrendered three goals to the Los Angeles Kings.
But, they could also opt to give Korpisalo some meaningful reps by extending his stint a bit longer. It could benefit the Rangers more long-term, as they are banking on him being a solution to their depth issues in net. His play could very well determine whether the Rangers need to surrender assets to bring in another goalie. Let's not forget that they have been linked to a variety of goalies ever since Shesterkin's injury.
Head coach Mike Sullivan, via The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano, mentioned that the Rangers have a certain amount of games in mind before the end of Korpisalo's conditioning stint. While he didn't say how many games, he does expect Korpisalo to make his return either on their road trip, or after that.
Hartford's next game is on Friday night against the Rochester Americans. There is a quick turnaround on Saturday, when they take on the Syracuse Crunch. Given that there hasn't been any updates from the Rangers regarding Korpisalo, we can expect him to start one of those two games.
The Rangers will be on a road trip beginning on Saturday against the Seattle Kraken. From there, they will play the Edmonton Oilers (Nov. 9), Calgary Flames (Nov. 11), and Vancouver Canucks (Nov. 13). So, if all goes well with his conditioning stint, Korpisalo could be in line to start in one of those games. They could also opt to wait until they return to New York when they face the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 16.
Whatever the Rangers decide, it sounds like Korpisalo will make his debut in the coming days.
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