Biron Baffles Buffalo

Yes, the Rangers won their 2,500^th game, leaving only the Black Hawks of the original six who have failed to meet that number. And yes, Ryan Callahan scored a shorthanded goal that truly was a highlight film goal. And of course, rookie Carl Hagelin scored two goals. However, it was the old pro Martin Biron, who had 32 saves and moved his record to 5-1, with a GAA of under 2.0, and a save percentage in excess of .930. Not bad for a backup.

It was no small feat. Buffalo averages almost three goals a game and the beauty of it was that Biron made it look easy. He was perfectly positioned all night He was only beaten by Thomas Vanek, his 14th. Marian Gaborik was the other Ranger scorer, his 14th also. Gaborik, believe it or not, got only 16 minutes of ice time because he was punished for being on the ice on Vanek's goal. Meanwhile Gabby played a whale of a game while he was on ice.

Speaking of ice time, Sean Avery got all of 3:48 of ice time. That amounted to five shifts. The homer boys, Sam and Joe, freely announced that Gaborik was getting reduced time because of his gaffe, but not a word about Sean's ice time. So the announcers don't talk about Avery's ice time. The coach don't talk about it. The blame stream media don't talk about it at their news conference. Is there a person named Sean Avery? Is there a hockey player named Sean Avery?

But soon all this will be resolved. Mike Rupp or Wolski will soon return and that will end Avery's stint with the Rangers. Will he clear waivers again? What will coach disagreeable say for the release? What are his reasons for not playing him now? Will the Stealth GM, see his shadow, come out of his cocoon and step in to stop this outrage? Will the blame stream media finally step up and ask the hard boiled questions a press corps should ask of a coach who sees himself above the team, above the press and more importantly above the fans?

Meantime, a big game tonight against a resurgent Florida Panther team. It should be a good early test of two upcoming teams looking to move up into the upper echelons.

Let's Go Rangers!

----

ICINGS:

Here is the breakdown of total wins and losses for the original six. Note that the Canadiens and Maple Leafs played for an extra 9 years.

Hockey-Reference.com / Team Index:

Franchise          From-To  Yrs  GP    W      L     T   OL
Boston Bruins      1925-2012 87 5,906  2,825  2,187 791 103
Chicago Blackhawks 1927-2012 85 5,841  2,432  2,510 814 85
Detroit Red Wings  1927-2012 85 5,840  2,681  2,265 815 79
Montreal Canadiens 1918-2012 94 6,068  3,116  2,028 837 87
New York Rangers   1927-2012 85 5,838  2,500  2,446 808 84
Toronto MapleLeafs 1918-2012 94 6,067  2,651  2,544 783 89

Related Articles by Categories