New York Rangers G Garand on Matthews save, waivers disappointment, Big Apple scrutiny

Below is a transcript of the interview, which has been edited for length, along with a video of the exchange with reporter Marty Hastings.

COMPLETE INTERVIEW

MH: Dylan, last time we talked, you were pretty laser-focused on breaking into the NHL full time. It’s been pretty wild to see what’s happened throughout the first part of the season. When you were placed on waivers prior to the season, how did you feel about that?

DG: Yeah, it was obviously disappointing. Nobody wants to get cut and put on waivers. I felt like I had a pretty good camp and just tried to kind of leave it all out there and things just ended up not working out. I got placed on waivers and it was a bit of a strange period there for 24 hours. That was my first time going on waivers. So, you really don’t know what’s going to happen until 2:00 p.m. the next day. And yeah, didn’t end up getting claimed. I went to Hartford for a couple of days. Two days later, I got called back up and have been up ever since. Pretty crazy.

MH: Let’s go back to Oct. 2. Twenty-two-save shutout in your first game. What did that one mean to you?

DG: Yeah, that one felt really good, honestly. With that whole week leading up, the disappointment of getting cut and going back to the American League and, kind of, here we go again, back in Hartford, fifth year, and then, yeah, boom, all of a sudden you get called back up unexpectedly and you get to play. That shutout definitely felt really good. The team played really well and made my job easy. I felt like I put in a lot of work over the summer to get ready for the season, so it was definitely a nice way to start, a special night, for sure.

MH: Let’s fast forward to last night. How do you assess your team’s game and your game (in a 5-4 loss to the Leafs in Toronto)?

DG: I don’t think we loved our game last night. I feel like we got kind of sucked into trading chances a little bit with them. That’s not really our game. That’s a really good hockey team over there in Toronto. They’ve got some good players and capitalized on their chances. I felt like I maybe didn’t play my best, but I also made some really good saves in that game. I kind of felt like I played better than I probably did. It sucks to lose late like that, obviously, a bit of a heartbreaker, but you just learn from it, move on and get ready to go again.

MH: The one stop you made on Matthews was all over the Internet about two seconds after it happened. Have you had a chance to sort of watch that one back? Take us through that stop.

DG: Yeah, I’ve watched it quite a few times, to be honest. Yeah, that was pretty cool. Obviously, he’s a special player. So yeah, that was good one. It was just kind of a bit of a broken play, puck up the wall. The D-man kind of threw it down. It was going wide, honestly, and hit our D-man’s skate right to the guy in front. It was just kind of instincts from there. I think he fanned on it a little bit. He didn’t get great wood on it.

MH: Bouncing back has been an early theme for you. You were pulled against New Jersey, then had a really good game against Columbus. What’s your plan to turn the page and be ready for Ottawa?

DG: Just having a short memory, like you said, turn the page. We play a lot of hockey games and not every game is going to be perfect. I think our group’s kind of got that same mindset. It’s about learning from it and moving on.

MH: Can you put a finger on the discrepancy between the home success and the road struggles?

DG: Not really. No. That’s probably a better question for the coaching staff. Obviously, we’ve been terrific at home, which has been a lot of fun. We take a lot of pride in playing in front of our fans. MSG has been electric this season. So, it’s been a lot of fun. But yeah, at the end of the day, you play 42 games on the road, so you’ve got to find ways to get points on the road. We’ve got another opportunity tomorrow night. So yeah, we’ll just go in there and then battle.

MH: Does it feel like you are scratching and clawing for your NHL dream every single night at this point? It just seems, from an outsider’s perspective, like there’s so much riding on each game. Or, do you try to not think about that?

DG: Sometimes, you feel that. I think it’s just part of being in the NHL, honestly. You’re at the top of your profession. Everyone’s watching. I think that’s what makes it so special and so cool to be a part of, to play in this league. You play a good game, you feel great, and maybe you don’t play your game and everyone’s kind of coming at you or whatever. It’s just part of the business. So, that’s something you learn and obviously something that you know I’m now going through and learning. I feel like I’ve gotten to experience that with some of the things I’ve done in the past, world juniors and Team Canada and stuff like that, where you’re on the big stage. I believe in myself and my capabilities of handling that and now it’s just about executing that mentally and letting the outside noise be the outside noise, and focus on just stopping the puck and playing my game.

MH: On that note, media attention is nothing new for you, but it is sort of on steroids when you’re the starting goaltender for the New York Rangers. Do you have to sort of adjust your media consumption? If you go look and you can find speculation about who might be coming and who the organization is looking at. These national articles are written about you. Do you look at them? Do you consume it? Do you change the way you look at the media or no?

DG: A bit of everything. I think sometimes you see stuff that pops up. I think it’s the same for everyone. We just saw today that Connor Hellebuyck trade went down and there were so many rumors swirling around for a bunch of teams. Specifically, I think I saw Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had a quote that was like, ‘Wow, it’s nice that that’s over,’ but it’s always going to be around and it’s part of the business. For me, it’s really just like I said, tuning out the outside noise and just focusing on my job and what I need to do to help the team win.

MH: I do want to get your thoughts on the Hellebuyck trade. That’s a new member of the division goaltending scene. Was there any sort of scuttlebutt about that? I don’t know if it happened when you were at practice.

DG: Yeah, a little bit. Obviously, that’s a massive trade. He’s a premier player in the league. So, yeah, especially to go to a division rival is interesting. It’s just been going on for so long. Guys always talk about trades when they go down, so that’s nothing out of the normal. He’s had a lot of noise around that, and I’m sure he’s happy to get that done.

MH: Last one. We’ll make it a two-parter. What’s your living situation when you’re up with the big club, and [Blazers’ goaltending coach] Dan De Palma, what’s his latest piece of advice been for you?

DG: Right now, I’m just living at a hotel up by the practice rink. It’s perfect, honestly. It’s easy to get there and it’s easy to get to games. I’m definitely enjoying my time there. And Dan, I actually texted him this morning. We’re going to have a call later tonight. We talk after every game. It’s a grind, obviously, playing the NHL. We’re playing every other day. It’s just about trusting your game and believing in yourself and executing. So yeah, I’m definitely fortunate to have that support. I know he’s always watching. I look forward to talking to him tonight.

by Marty Hastings

New York Rangers G Garand on Matthews save, waivers disappointment, Big Apple scrutiny

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