Rangers vs. Red Wings Recap: Garand Shutout, Lafreniere Under Cashes

The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings 2-0 on Friday night, and it was a goalie's game from start to finish. Sean Durzi scored on the power play at 5:12 of the 1st with a slap shot, and that goal stood as the winner. Eeli Tolvanen sealed it with an empty-netter at 18:44 of the 3rd. Dylan Garand made 22 saves on 22 shots for the shutout, while John Gibson stopped 19 of 20 at the other end. Detroit outshot New York 22-21, but the Rangers won the special-teams battle: one power-play goal on four chances, while Detroit went scoreless on its two. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Alexis Lafreniere under 2.5 shots on goal (-180 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Lafreniere stayed at two shots or fewer in 74% of his games last season, averaging 2.00 a game, and New York was playing the second night of a back-to-back. We liked the under. - What happened: Lafreniere finished with 1 shot on goal, 1.5 under the line, in 21:30 of ice time that included 5:29 on the power play. He had no points and one hit. The under was never in danger. - Worth watching: Heavy minutes and real power-play time still produced just one shot here, which fits the pregame profile. The price was steep at -180, so this is an angle to check against the number each night rather than play on autopilot.

Adam Fox 1+ points (-130 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Fox put up 53 points in 55 games last season and had 2 assists through 2 games this year. He runs the top power play, and our pregame read had Detroit without Dylan Larkin. At 61 confidence, this was a longer shot that landed. - What happened: Fox picked up the secondary assist on Tolvanen's empty-net goal at 18:44 of the 3rd, his third assist of the season, for 1 point, 0.5 over the line. He played 22:50, including 5:17 on the power play, with 2 shots on goal and a +1. - Worth watching: This one cashed late, and it came on an empty-netter rather than on the power play he quarterbacks. His ice time and power-play role are what make the points prop worth a look, but a 2-0 game shows how thin the margin can be.

How the game played out

The 1st period decided it. Durzi's slap shot on the power play, set up by Gabe Perreault and Will Cuylle, was the only goal either goalie allowed. From there it was Garand and Gibson trading saves. Gibson went to the bench for the extra attacker late, and Tolvanen finished it with the empty-netter.

Trends to watch

• Rangers power-play minutes: Pavel Dorofeyev (5:32), Lafreniere (5:29), Fox (5:17) and Mika Zibanejad (5:01) got the most power-play time for New York. Who sits on that top unit matters for both shot props and points props, so it is worth tracking as the season settles in.
• Shot volume was low on both sides: New York put 21 shots on goal and Detroit 22. That low volume suited the Lafreniere under, and it also meant only two goals to go around for anyone chasing points.
• Goalie workload: Garand faced 22 shots and turned all of them away. Gibson saw 20 and allowed one. Neither goalie was buried with volume in this matchup.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. For more, see our NHL page, the NHL recaps hub, and our explainer on the player prop.