Rangers’ Bold Recall Gamble: Berard and Garand Poised to Ignite Turnaround Against Blues

In the high-stakes world of the NHL, where every shift can swing a season, the New York Rangers are staring down a crossroads. Battered by a grueling four-game losing skid that’s left fans at Madison Square Garden more restless than a penalty kill in overtime, the Blueshirts pulled off a roster shakeup on Sunday that feels like a desperate Hail Mary—and maybe just the spark they need. Forward Brett Berard and goaltender Dylan Garand, two of Hartford’s rising stars from the AHL’s Wolf Pack, were summoned northward in a flurry of transactions that sent rookie defenseman Scott Morrow back to the minors and placed blueliner Will Borgen on injured reserve. As the Rangers gear up to host the St. Louis Blues on Monday night, this infusion of youth could be the adrenaline shot to jolt New York out of their slump, or the latest chapter in a frustrating tale of what-ifs.

The timing couldn’t be more precarious. New York’s latest heartbreaker—a 3-2 defeat to the Utah Mammoth on Saturday—extended their slide to four straight losses, dropping them to a middling 10-10-2 record. The offense, once a symphony led by Artemi Panarin’s wizardry, has sputtered like a faulty Zamboni, managing just five goals across those defeats. Defensively, they’ve been leaky, conceding 14 in the same span, while the power play—that vaunted weapon—has gone colder than a winter night on Broadway. Whispers of coaching scrutiny for Mike Sullivan, who took over in the offseason, have already crept into the ether, but with a home stand starting against a Blues squad that’s equally adrift at 6-9-6, this is no time for panic. It’s time for prospects to prove their mettle.

Enter Berard, the 23-year-old left winger whose journey embodies the Rangers’ pipeline promise. Drafted in the fifth round back in 2020, Berard burst onto the scene last season with 35 NHL games under his belt, chipping in six goals and four assists while showing the gritty, net-front presence that screams bottom-six agitator. But the 2025-26 start was a grind for him in Hartford: pointless through five games and nursing a minus-five rating that tested his resolve. He bounced back fiercely, though, rattling off five assists in his last six outings and leading the Wolf Pack’s forwards with 28 shots on goal. Now, with J.T. Miller sidelined day-to-day after a punishing collision in Thursday’s 6-3 drubbing by the Colorado Avalanche, Berard’s recall isn’t just insurance—it’s an opportunity. “He’s hungry,” one Rangers insider noted, echoing the sentiment from training camp where Berard impressed enough to nearly snag an opening-night spot. In a lineup craving energy, expect him slotted on the third or fourth line, perhaps alongside Mika Zibanejad’s crew, where his physicality could unlock the forecheck that’s been MIA. Fans are buzzing: Could this be the kid who turns a penalty-kill scramble into a shorthanded dagger?

Then there’s Garand, the 23-year-old netminder from Victoria, B.C., whose recall carries an even sharper edge of urgency. As New York’s third-stringer in the pecking order behind Igor Shesterkin and the veteran Jonathan Quick, Garand’s AHL season has been a mixed bag—3-6-2 with a .897 save percentage and 2.95 goals-against average over 11 starts. But don’t let the ledger fool you; the 2020 fourth-round pick was an AHL All-Star last year, posting a .913 save clip and three shutouts while anchoring Canada’s gold-medal run at the 2022 World Juniors. Quick’s limp-favoring exit in Utah, courtesy of a nasty collision with Mammoth forward Michael Carcone, lit the fuse on this move. The 39-year-old backup gutted out 31 saves to steal a moral victory in defeat, but his status for Monday is murky at best. Shesterkin, fresh off a 28-save gem, can’t shoulder every minute of a back-to-back stretch looming next. Garand’s arrival means the Rangers are hedging against the worst: a Quick sit-out that thrusts the kid into NHL fires. If he backs up flawlessly—or, gasp, spells Shesterkin— it could signal the dawn of a succession plan in net, easing the franchise’s long-term creases.

These aren’t splashy deadline deals or marquee free-agent coups; they’re the gritty underbelly of roster management, the kind that separates contenders from pretenders. The Rangers, who traded away Chris Kreider and K’Andre Miller in a summer overhaul to clear cap space and inject youth, have leaned hard on their farm system this fall. Berard’s call-up joins a fluid forward group where rookies like Noah Laba have already forced their way in, while Garand’s presence thickens a goaltending plot that’s thinner than a power-play unit without Panarin. Against St. Louis, a team mired in their own offensive drought (just 59 goals league-wide, dead last), New York enters as -141 favorites with a 5.5 over/under that screams low-scoring chess match. Robert Thomas and the Blues’ stingy penalty kill will test the Rangers’ resolve, but if Berard buries a greasy rebound or Garand stonewalls a breakaway, the Garden could erupt in a way it hasn’t since last spring’s playoff fever.

For a fanbase weaned on Presidents’ Trophies and Broadway heartbreak, this feels like classic Rangers drama: adversity breeding opportunity. Sullivan’s postgame candor after Utah—”We looked flat, not hungry”—stung because it rang true, but with these recalls, he’s betting on fresh legs to reignite the fire. Berard, the scrappy Newfoundlander who’s grown mentally tougher through AHL slumps, and Garand, the poised puck-stopper with international pedigree, represent more than depth. They’re the blueprint for a turnaround, a reminder that in the NHL’s relentless grind, the next shift is always a reset. As puck drop nears at 7 p.m. ET on NHL Network, one question hangs heavier than the fog over the Hudson: Will these young guns turn the tide, or will the Blues exploit the chaos? In Rangerstown, hope skates eternal—and tonight, it’s laced up tight.