Battle Of Hudson

The Rangers turn to Cam Talbot tomorrow against the Flyers.
newsday.com

With Henrik Lundqvist missing a third straight practice with an undisclosed injury, the Rangers will turn to Cam Talbot tomorrow in Philly. The 26-year old rookie couldn’t contain his excitement.

“I have been waiting a long time for this, working towards this, so I’ll be ready if I get the call,” Talbot told Jim Cerny in a story that appeared on Blueshirts United. “I am extremely excited. It’s every kid’s dream that grows up playing hockey to one day get the chance to play in the NHL. I just can’t wait ’til that time comes. I’ll have to approach it like any other game. It’ll be tough to control those emotions, but I’ll have to do my best to settle myself down and just focus on the game.”

“I basically told (Talbot) he’s in, to enjoy it,” said Alain Vigneault. “He’s obviously been waiting for this opportunity a long time and he’s played real well so far this year at our training camp and in Hartford, so he’s ready for this opportunity.”

If Talbot can duplicate what we saw in preseason against an even more struggling Flyers, goaltending shouldn’t be an issue. What the team has to do is play better in front of him. There have been too many instances where they’ve hung Lundqvist out to dry. So often, he’s bailed them out. But an awful start has the hockey world scratching their heads. Some wondered if it was the goalie pads while others thought the added pressure of a new contract was weighing on his mind. As it turns out, Vigneault revealed that he has a minor injury.

“If this had been a playoff game (Lundqvist) would probably be playing,” explained the head coach. “It’s something that is day to day, that we can nip it in the bud by taking one more day or two. It’s something we should be able to turn the page on and you won’t hear about it any more.”

According to Daily News Rangers beat writer Pat Leonard, Vigneault said Lundqvist’s ailment is “something he’s had for, I want to say, maybe 10 days. But it wasn’t anything significant. He played real well in Washington, and it acted up a little bit after the Jersey game.”   The coach said on Sunday, the day after the 4-0 loss to the Devils, Lundqvist “just felt it more and consulted our doctors. They took a look at him and he had some irritation, so we figured we might as well nip this in the bud right now.”

Whatever it is, maybe it helps explain a poor start that’s seen him post a 3.45 GAA and .890 save percentage. Vigneault also noted that something had been bothering Lundqvist for 10 days. What was all that talk about the Devils not being four goals better? He took a lot of criticism from the new coach and Brad Richards. Without Hank, this is a lottery team. Hopefully, he’ll come back stronger and playing the kind of goalie Garden Faithful have come to expect. The home opener is Monday Oct. 28 against the Canadiens.

Vigneault is hoping the team will raise their level with Talbot making his NHL debut. “If for whatever reason we need to use Talbot I think our guys will try real hard for him,” explained Vigneault. “It would be his first regular season NHL game so I would expect our group to rally around that and play real hard in front of him.”

That means being harder on the puck with defensemen making better reads. In a read and react system that emphasizes more man to man defensively, they must be quicker. Something Mike Del Zotto hinted at. He’ll return to the lineup tomorrow in place of Justin Falk. In five games, he has no points and is a minus-six. They need him to step it up offensively. Dan Girardi has probably struggled worse than anyone. He’s been caught out of position several times leading to goals against and an ugly minus-seven rating. Sadly, Marc Staal’s minus-eight ranks worse. The top four that also includes Ryan McDonagh needs to get it together. Especially with the offense missing Ryan Callahan, Rick Nash and Carl Hagelin, who at least is getting closer to the Oct. 29 target date at the Islanders. They can certainly use his jam.

As for lines, Chris Kreider skated with Derek Stepan and Richards. Derick Brassard was with Benoit Pouliot and J.T. Miller. Brian Boyle practiced with Taylor Pyatt and Jesper Fast. Mats Zuccarello was an alternate working with Pyatt and Fast making him a candidate to be scratched. He hasn’t done anything so far and has only seven shots in seven games. It looks like Pyatt stays in. The fourth line is Dominic Moore with Derek Dorsett and Brandon Mashinter.

Regardless of who plays, it’s time for this team to step up. That means more inspired play from Stepan and more aggression from Brassard. Both are key components of the offense who haven’t done enough. I’m curious to see what Kreider gives them on the top line. Richards said he pressed in preseason. Kreider just needs to relax and play. Hopefully, it’ll translate.

In Better Times: Marty Biron receives congrats from Henrik Lundqvist. He announced his retirement today.

Today, Marty Biron finally came to a tough decision. The affable former Ranger backup goalie announced his retirement. In a tweet earlier today, he made it official.

Martin Biron Verified account

‏@martybiron43

After thinking about it it with my family, I’ve decided to retire as a player and move on to a new chapter. Thank you all for your support.

This doesn’t come as a surprise. I think once Alain Vigneault told him he was on waivers, he knew deep down it was the end. At 36, Biron had a great career. In 16 seasons with the Sabres, Flyers, Islanders and Rangers, he won 230 games posting a 2.61 GAA and .910 save percentage with 28 shutouts in 508 games. His best season came with the Flyers in ’07-08 when he followed up a 30-win season by backstopping the Flyers to the Conference Final. They lost to the Pens. During the run, Biron went 9-8 with a 2.97 GAA, .904 save percentage and one shutout. He also made the Conference Final with the Rangers in 2012 as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup.

After spending a year on the other side of one of hockey’s best rivalries with the Islanders, Biron signed with the Rangers in 2010. In four seasons on Broadway, he provided a dependable backup goalie who Lundqvist could lean on. Not only was he the consummate professional but so well liked that he often gave advice to Ranger shooters before a shootout. I can remember Mats Zuccarello alluding to this once following a great move he pulled off following a win. Biron was the secret weapon.

He won eight games and posted a 2.13 GAA with a .923 save percentage his first season as a Blueshirt (’10-11). Biron followed that up by winning 12 games in ’11-12 while posting a 2.46 GAA, .904 save percentage and two shutouts over 21 games. An invaluable part of a team that won its first Atlantic Division since ’95-96 finishing with the East’s best record. They advanced to the Conference Final before falling in six games to the Devils. In six games last year, he won two games with a 2.32 GAA and .917 save percentage. Unfortunately, after only two appearances, it came to an end. He allowed five goals to the Blues in his only start- a 5-3 loss in St. Louis on Saturday, Oct. 11.

Sometimes, these things happen to good guys. It’s sports. I’ll miss Biron’s personality. He was a guy who kept things loose and answered questions with a smile on his face. An honest sort who should have a bright future in broadcasting. I can’t wait for the day he’s interviewing players. In one final tweet half an hour ago, he said:

“I wanna thank players, coaches, reporters, friends and mostly all the fans for their great support by emails, text and tweets today. MERCI!!”

Thank you Marty Biron. And good luck in the next chapter in your life.

The Rangers have recalled forwards Chris Kreider and Brandon Mashinter from Hartford. Also coming back up is goalie Cam Talbot. Going back down are Darroll Powe and Jason Missiaen.

In six games with the Wolf Pack, Kreider has two goals and two assists with 16 penalty minutes. Both his goals have come on the power play. After failing to establish himself during preseason, the 22-year old ’09 first round pick went down to Hartford and played better. Now, he gets another opportunity to prove he’s an NHLer. At 6-3, 230 he possesses the size, strength and speed. It’s just a matter of being consistent at the highest level. In 23 games with the Rangers last year, he struggled putting up two goals and assist. Despite sitting out a few games and going back down, he got into eight postseason games scoring this nifty overtime winner against Boston. The Rangers are hoping to see more of that with a struggling offense that’s scored just 11 goals in their first seven games.

By recalling Mashinter, they add toughness to what’s a soft roster minus Ryan Callahan. Mashinter has five assists for Hartford along with seven penalty minutes. His penchant for bad penalties makes him a risk. However, this team clearly needs more energy. Mashinter can provide that finishing checks and sticking up for teammates. He must stay disciplined or his stay will be brief. After how they were pushed around yesterday and over the first seven resulting in a 2-5-0 record, I like this move. With some players clearly not pulling their weight, the organization can’t stand pat.

After getting into games this weekend, Talbot is back. He’ll backup Henrik Lundqvist. In Saturday’s 3-2 win over Providence, Talbot made 39 saves improving to 4-0-1 with a 2.49 GAA and a .924 save percentage. It looks like he’s ready. With Marty Biron deciding to retire, Talbot will backup Lundqvist. Alain Vigneault has repeatedly said that he needs a second string goalie who can make 15-20 starts. We’ll see if Cam can live up to expectations. Otherwise, the Rangers could be in the market for a goalie. Do I hear Ilya Bryzgalov? Let’s hope the universe stays away from MSG.