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

Rangers prospects and the Hartford Wolf Pack take center stage as AHL.com’s Patrick Williams joins Jim Cerny on Rink Rap.

In this episode:
• Hartford’s new head coach Jay Leach and the early-season direction
• Which Rangers prospects are standing out in the AHL (and who still has work to do)
• The goaltending situation, including Callum Tung and the James Reimer PTO
• How the Wolf Pack is handling an early 0-5 stretch after a 3-0 start
• Whether this Hartford group is more resilient than past Wolf Pack teams
• Quick Rangers update covering the response after the Devils loss, the Columbus game, and the Ducks win at MSG

Patrick Williams is a longtime AHL reporter who also contributes to NHL.com. He gives an honest look at development, roster decisions, and the push-and-pull between the Rangers and their AHL affiliate.

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro & Rangers update
15:00 – Patrick Williams joins
20:00 – Jay Leach and the coaching staff
28:00 – Prospects spotlight
45:00 – Goaltending situation
55:00 – Closing thoughts & what’s next

Subscribe to Rink Rap from Forever Blueshirts for more New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack coverage.

Podcast number two this week. Jim Cerny breaks down the Rangers’ 7-1 loss in New Jersey, a night that looked a lot like the last two seasons after a 6-2 start. He covers the roster moves first: Taylor Raddysh is up from Hartford, Jaroslav Chmelar goes back down, and the Wolf Pack signed veteran goalie James Reimer to a PTO. Then he walks through the game: J.T. Miller’s late first-period turnover, the second-period collapse, Dylan Garand getting pulled, and why chasing games is a problem for this team without Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers visit Columbus on Saturday.

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro: a second Rink Rap this week
• 03:11 Raddysh up, Chmelar down
• 03:57 Why Sullivan doesn’t trust the fourth line
• 10:19 What Raddysh brings
• 13:53 James Reimer PTO and goalie depth
• 20:50 The Devils game: Miller’s turnover
• 24:47 Second-period collapse
• 31:00 Why one game shouldn’t cause panic
• 35:00 Wrap-up and what’s next