NEW YORK – Bill Belichick may ask the Rangers to borrow Martin Biron on Sunday because he sure owns the Jets.
Of course, the Rangers backup goalie is not going to play football, but for the hockey Jets, he has been a nightmare.
A 2-0 record with a 0.50 GAA this season is giving fans in Manitoba shell-shock.
Yes, this is the reason why Glen Sather signed the former Buffalo Sabre two summers ago. Biron is more than just a backup goaltender, rather he is a starter in a bench role.
And with the club wanting Henrik Lundqvist to play a little less, having Biron at the top of his game makes life around the Garden a little easier.
Lundqvist has an injury…no problem just play Marty.
Henrik played too much…no problem just play Marty.
Two home games in a row and the team is tired…no problem just play Marty.
And with the Jets pretty much in the same boat as the Rangers, playing last night, Biron was able to answer the call with a 3-0 shutout and his third win this season.
“It’s one of those things, [shutout] come and come and they go and go,” said Biron. “They all feel great. I used to play them down, but they are hard to come by in this league and you have to enjoy them.”
Particularly enjoyable is the 4-1-1 record the Rangers recorded at the Garden on the six game stand. Biron was the key in two of the wins, but even more so today when his team needed a pick-me-up from their one rested player.
And Biron came through with some really solid saves in the 23 he racked up, including putting out four power play fires.
“We didn’t gave up much defensively and we made it a point to defend,” said coach John Tortorella. “When he did break down Marty Biron was so steady. He settles the team down just by the way he plays.”
With Biron on control, the Rangers just needed a few well placed shots for the win and they came from Tortorella’s new top line of Anisimov, Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik.
Stepan opened the scoring midway through the second on a power play goal beating Ondrej Pavelec stick side from the circle for the 1-0 lead.
But it was Gaborik’s goal 8:31 in the third which was very impressive. On a two-on-one with Johnny Oduya in the middle, Stepan was able to feed Gaborik for his sixth of the season to give Biron some insurance.
Gaborik also added an empty-netter late in the game.
“I feel like we all create space for each other and I think that’s the biggest thing,” Stepan said. “And Gaby [Gaborik], the way he is, I don’t even know how he does some of the things he does. And me and Artie [Anisimov], we’re finding ourselves, finding space and creating space within ourselves. The three of us have good chemistry and with that chemistry, it’s awesome.”
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