The Rangers will carry three goalies on their season-ending road trip, with Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick and Dylan Garand all traveling as the club prepares for Saturday’s Rangers vs Stars game. The team is expected to dress the same 18 skaters it used in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
Dylan Garand, who made his NHL debut in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on March 22, could get another look on the trip, though Mike Sullivan did not say which game he might play. That gives the Rangers a decision point before the final stretch of the season, with the club still sorting out how it wants to use its goaltenders over the three-game road trip.
The Stars, meanwhile, will be without Miro Heiskanen after he left the first period of Thursday’s 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild. His status for the playoffs was not known Friday, when he was scheduled to have an MRI, leaving Dallas with a major injury question just as it prepares to face New York.
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Dallas is already dealing with a long injury list. Nathan Bastian is out with a hand injury, Michael Bunting, Radek Faksa and Roope Hintz are all sidelined by lower-body injuries, Nils Lundkvist is ill, Tyler Seguin remains out with an ACL injury and Sam Steel has an undisclosed injury. Faksa and Bunting are said to be close to returning, and Bunting could dress Saturday if he is available, replacing Cameron Hughes.
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That leaves the matchup shaped as much by availability as by standings. The Rangers are trying to get through the end of their schedule with a stable lineup, while the Stars are managing injuries that could affect both Saturday’s game and their playoff setup.
