James Reimer implodes early in first Rangers start as goalie issues get worse in loss to Kings

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Cite

Walker, M. (2026, October 27). James Reimer implodes early in first Rangers start as goalie issues get worse in loss to Kings. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/26/sports/james-reimer-fails-miserably-in-first-rangers-start-in-loss-to-kings/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-27 · by Mollie Walker

Quick Summary

In Monday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings, newly signed goalie James Reimer struggled early, allowing three goals on eight shots before being replaced by rookie Dylan Garand in the second period. The New York Rangers lost 6-3, ending their undefeated streak at Madison Square Garden. Despite flashes of promise from Garand—who has been handling all starts since Igor Shesterkin’s season-ending injury—the team remains concerned about goaltending depth with Joonas Korpisalo still out due to a foot infection and projected to return around Nov. 7.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-27, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

James Reimer, signed as a veteran goalie to provide relief for Rangers rookie netminder Dylan Garand, struggled badly in his first start against the Kings, allowing three goals on eight shots. This loss ended the Rangers' undefeated streak at Madison Square Garden and highlighted ongoing issues with their goaltending depth. Coach Mike Sullivan acknowledged the strain on Garand, who had been playing for seven consecutive games since Igor Shesterkin suffered a season-ending knee injury in Washington. Despite Reimer's signing to ease pressure on Garand, he was pulled early in favor of Garand when the Rangers were trailing 3-1 after one period. The team is hoping for an improvement as veteran goalie Joonas Korpisalo, currently on injured reserve with a foot infection, is projected to return around November 7th, coinciding with a four-game swing in Seattle and Western Canada.

Written for “James Reimer's Poor Performance” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 James Reimer's Poor Performance
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 16 📰 publisher trust 66
“Article A discusses an upcoming game involving Rangers and Kings where Peter Laviolette returns to Madison Square Garden, while Article B reports on a past game where James Reimer struggled in goal against the Kings resulting in a loss for the Rangers.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-27 · how these are computed

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New York Post · 14317 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Mollie Walker
50 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 And when the Rangers finally started to catch some momentum following J.T. Miller’s fourth goal of the season, Reimer couldn’t track a one-timer from Drew Doughty at the top of the zone and his team lost any push it had just as quickly as it started.
🔮 If a certain percentage of the ones that hit the posts have gone in the net, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
🔮 The Rangers struggled mightily with clearing the puck and breaking it out of their zone, which led to Batherson’s second of the game less than two minutes into the second period.
2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Rangers outgunned by Senators after another slow start
🔮 tRY IT NOWThe adjustment to having three lefties (Pavel Dorofeyev, Alexis Lafrenière, J.T. Miller) and two righties (Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad), as opposed to the four-righty alignment they’ve deployed the last seven seasons, is apparently more significant than one would expect.
🔮 With effective spurts that haven’t always been enough to demand results, the second line hopes that staying the course will pay off.
🔮 Teams will have to face Igor Shesterkin (when he returns from injury next season), Ilya Sorokin and Hellebuyck during the New York-New Jersey swing.
🔮 In his sixth consecutive start, rookie netminder Dylan Garand struggled mightily with rebound control.
🔮 “As soon as I stepped on the ice, I could feel the energy.
🔮 tRY IT NOWAgainst the clubs projected to finish near the bottom of the standings — such as the Red Wings, Canucks and Ducks — the Rangers have won by a combined margin of 13-4.
🔮 “I think the biggest thing in-zone — and this is a discussion we’ve had with our group — is our willingness to create off the shot more,” Sullivan said.
Also by Mollie Walker
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 50 articles by Mollie Walker →

Topics

Blueshirts Kings Post Sports+ Rangers Washington

Subjects

Rangers ORG · 15× Garand PERSON · 6× Reimer PERSON · 5× Kings ORG · 4× Korpisalo PERSON · 4× Blueshirts ORG · 3× Dylan Garand PERSON · 1× James Reimer PERSON · 1× Joonas Korpisalo PERSON · 1× Mike Sullivan PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The fact that Korpisalo, who has been on injured reserve with a foot infection, as confirmed by The Post, is considered a potential saving grace is a telling sign of the current state of the Rangers goaltending depth. Given a four-week timeline Oct. 10, Korpisalo is projected to return around Nov. 7 as the Rangers begin their four-game swing in Seattle and Western Canada.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-27
🔮 And when the Rangers finally started to catch some momentum following J.T. Miller’s fourth goal of the season, Reimer couldn’t track a one-timer from Drew Doughty at the top of the zone and his team lost any push it had just as quickly as it started.

Claims (24 extracted, 1 hedged)

Joonas Korpisalo can’t recover soon enough. asserted
Korpisalo → recover → ?
That statement acutely reflects the Rangers’ current predicament in goal after the recently signed veteran goalie James Reimer gave up three goals on eight shots to start a 6-3 thrashing by the Kings on Monday night that ended the Blueshirts’ undefeated streak at Madison Square Garden. asserted
that → reflect → Garden
Head coach Mike Sullivan acknowledged how much the organization has asked of Dylan Garand in recent weeks. asserted
organization → acknowledge → weeks
had started the previous seven games, appearing in eight in a row dating back to when the rookie netminder relieved Igor Shesterkin after the star goalie suffered his season-ending knee injury in Washington. asserted
goalie → start → Washington
Signing Reimer, who was on a professional tryout with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford, was meant to give Garand a reprieve. asserted
who → sign → reprieve
And yet, there was Garand replacing Reimer at the start of the second period with the Rangers trailing 3-1. asserted
Rangers → be → period
The 38-year-old Reimer was slow to react in his first NHL game of the season, giving up goals on each of the first two shots he faced. asserted
he → react → shots
And when the Rangers finally started to catch some momentum following J.T. Miller’s fourth goal of the season, Reimer couldn’t track a one-timer from Drew Doughty at the top of the zone and his team lost any push it had just as quickly as it started. asserted
it → start → push
Pulling Reimer early and attempting to salvage the game fell on a Rangers team that was already reeling. asserted
that → pull → team
A cold Garand had to face a Kings power play almost immediately, and former Ranger Artemi Panarin was right there to deliver a 4-1 dagger. asserted
Panarin → have → dagger
Garand ultimately gave up two goals on the 17 shots he faced in his fifth regulation loss of the season. asserted
he → give → season
Despite flashes of No. 1 goalie potential from Garand, the jury is still out on if he’s a seasonlong solution for the Rangers. asserted
he → ’ → Rangers
The fact that Korpisalo, who has been on injured reserve with a foot infection, as confirmed by The Post, is considered a potential saving grace is a telling sign of the current state of the Rangers goaltending depth. Given a four-week timeline Oct. 10, Korpisalo is projected to return around Nov. 7 as the Rangers begin their four-game swing in Seattle and Western Canada. asserted
Rangers → confirm → Seattle
Sullivan said Korpisalo skated for the first couple of times in recent days and is “making progress.” asserted
Korpisalo → say → progress
Still, the 32-year-old goalie hasn’t cracked a .900 save percentage in a single season since the 2022-23 campaign. asserted
goalie → crack → campaign
The Rangers are naturally looking to see what Korpisalo can do when he’s ready, especially since president and general manager Chris Drury sent Kalle Vaisanen and a 2028 fourth-round pick to Boston to bring him to New York. asserted
Drury → look → York
The five-day break in the game schedule couldn’t be coming at a better time. asserted
break → come → time
Not only will Garand be able to rest up, but the Rangers will be one week closer to getting another option in net. asserted
Rangers → rest → net
While management dreamed of using the impending cap relief from Shesterkin’s eventual season-ending LTIR designation to bolster other areas of the lineup, goaltending may need to take precedence if it becomes a consistent issue. uncertain
it → dream → precedence
Although the Rangers’ steadily deteriorating defensive structure isn’t inspiring much confidence at the moment that such a move would even be worth it. asserted
move → deteriorate → moment
The Rangers lost to a Kings team that won its first two games of the season just last week after going 0-4-2 to start. asserted
that → lose → 0
In ex-Rangers coach Peter Laviolette’s first time back at MSG since taking over behind the Kings bench, Los Angeles jumped on the home team early. asserted
Angeles → take → team
The Rangers’ effort didn’t fold as quickly as it has in the past, but repeatedly giving up saveable shots made any offensive rhythm impossible to find. asserted
rhythm → fold → shots
The Blueshirts have now given up at least five goals in three consecutive games as they fell to 7-6-1 on the season. asserted
they → give → season
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