Marty Biron on the Rangers Goalie Situation, Hellebuyck and the Metro

Jim Cerny sits down with Marty Biron, the former NHL goalie and broadcaster, during the Rangers’ five-day break. The Rangers are without Igor Shesterkin for the rest of the season, so the conversation covers whether Dylan Garand and Joonas Korpisalo can keep the team afloat, what a goalie trade could look like around the holidays and why Biron wasn’t thrilled with the James Reimer start.

Biron and Jim also get into the bigger picture: the Rangers’ expected goals numbers, the finishing problem, and what the team needs from its power play and top forwards. Biron makes the case that Connor Hellebuyck joining the New Jersey Devils shifts the Metropolitan Division more than Shesterkin’s injury does.

Along the way, Biron tells the Henrik Lundqvist story from Sweden, rants about the league taking his double-zero number, and talks Devin Cooley, Jacob Fowler and the best goalies on Canadian teams.

Key talking points

• Rangers’ playoff outlook without Shesterkin
• Garand’s workload and Korpisalo’s return
• Possible trade targets, including Montembeault
• Why the Reimer start was a head-scratcher
• Expected goals against, finishing and the power play
• Hellebuyck and the Devils
• Cooley, Fowler and the top goalies on Canadian teams

Chapters:

00:00 Rangers hit a five-day break 00:50 Marty Biron joins as the “king of goaltending” 01:05 Two kings in Sweden: the Lundqvist bus tour story 01:54 Jim’s Stockholm lunch run-in with Hank’s fans 03:47 Why Marty could never be an EBUG 05:51 Marty’s double-zero rant 07:28 John Davidson’s year in double zero 08:40 How Marty ended up wearing No. 43 11:19 Rangers fans split on life after Shesterkin 12:20 Can the Rangers make the playoffs without Igor? 12:48 Lucky they didn’t lose Garand on waivers 14:07 Why this is an opportunity for Garand 14:44 Rangers could shop for a goalie by the holidays 15:23 Trade options: Gibson, Bennington, Montembeault 16:21 Montreal’s goalie logjam 17:07 Garand’s small sample size and the waiver risk 18:42 Garand’s long-term upside 19:35 Everything hinges on Korpisalo 21:12 Nine straight starts: the mental toll on Garand 22:16 Marty on stepping in for an injured Hasek 23:52 Why pulling Reimer after one period made no sense 27:49 Chicken or egg: the goalies or the defense? 29:55 Rangers rank 26th in expected goals against 31:45 The top-15 standard they need to hit 32:12 Should the Rangers worry about trailing after one period? 33:00 Plenty of chances, not enough finishing 33:42 Miller, Dorofeyev and Zibanejad need to deliver 34:29 The perfect storm 35:28 The power play as the X factor 36:32 Shesterkin’s knee and next season’s outlook 38:38 Hellebuyck or Shesterkin: what moves the Metro more? 40:30 Devils defend well but couldn’t stop the puck going in 41:39 Marty on the Devils as contenders 41:58 Devin Cooley and the Flames’ goalie turnaround 43:30 Marty’s top five goalies on Canadian teams 45:12 The Maple Leafs and the defensive concept problem 46:20 Marty on Mike Babcock and the Oilers 47:41 Rangers host Oilers Sunday, plus Jets banter 48:15 Wrap-up

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