The 27th shutout of Marty Biron’s career may have been achieved in a pedestrian affair, but the Rangers goaltender sure wasn’t about to downplay last night’s 3-0 whitewash of the Jets at the Garden, certainly not when he had gone more than two years without one.
“I used to play it down, but not anymore” said Biron, whose last shutout was a 5-0 victory over the Sabres at the Coliseum on Oct. 31, 2009, while playing for the Islanders. “They’re hard to come by in the league, so when you have one, you have to enjoy it very much.”
Twenty-seven career shutouts is a fairly substantial accomplishment, given that 57 goaltenders in NHL history have recorded more than that, and, by the way, Mike Richter finished with 24, Chico Resch and Gerry Cheevers finished with 26 each and Mike Liut wound up with 25.
There is no greater asset for a backup goaltender than the ability to win. Biron this year is 3-0 with a 0.95 goals-against average and .963 save pct. The Rangers are 11-6 in the understudy’s 18 starts in his two seasons with the club.
“Marty was just so steady,” coach John Tortorella said. “He settles the team down. Just the way he plays, it settles the team down.”
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Tortorella moved Derek Stepan onto the first power-play unit with Marian Gaborik and Ryan Callahan while shifting Brandon Dubinsky to the second unit with Erik Christensen and Artem Anisimov. The right-handed Stepan scored on the power play from the left circle, converting Michael Del Zotto‘s cross-ice feed at 10:01 of the second to break a scoreless tie. The Blueshirts went just 1-for-6, though, on the power play, failing on a pair of five-on-three’s that totaled 2:00.
Gaborik, who converted Stepan’s two-on-one feed midway through the third for a 2-0 lead, added an empty-netter to boost his total to seven goals in 13 games. The winger and center have been together for the last five games.
“Step is playing with a lot of confidence,” said Gaborik, who played 21 games last year with Stepan as his pivot. “He’s moving the puck well and has been patient with it. He’s making plays on the power play. Hopefully he can keep it up.”
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Del Zotto had another sturdy game last night in 23:15. Prior to the match, Tortorella talked about how Brad Richards has helped Del Zotto’s maturation following last year’s disappointing second pro season that ended in Hartford following demotion to the AHL.
“I have tremendous respect for Brad Richards and how he understood at a very early age what it is to be a pro and how to handle yourself, especially off the ice,” Tortorella said. “I asked him and Michael to spend time together, and especially Michael to seek his knowledge and not only about hockey.
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Dan Girardi suffered a bruised right hand or finger blocking an Evander Kane shot late in the second after earlier in the period landing awkwardly on his back/tailbone against the boards on a hit from Alexander Burmistrov, but the indestructible defenseman pronounced himself fine following 26:47 of ice time.
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Tortorella went most of the way with three lines. Sean Avery got 5:21 on eight shifts (one 29-second shift in the third). Andre Deveaux got 10 shifts for 7:19 (1:02 in the third) and Christensen got 5:58 at even strength (1:12 in the third). Tortorella also went primarily with four defensemen with Jeff Woywitka getting 8:41 and Steve Eminger getting 8:07 of ice time. The third pair took two brief turns in the third.
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The Rangers have outscored the opposition 14-6 during their four-game winning streak. . . . Brandon Dubinsky has yet to score. . . . Mike Rupp‘s left knee arthroscopy will be performed Wednesday by club physician Dr. Andrew Feldman. Wojtek Wolski will have his groin examined today in Philadelphia by specialist Dr. William Meyers.
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The Blueshirts will play just three games in next 12 days: Wednesday in Ottawa, Friday at home against the Hurricanes and next Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Coliseum against the Islanders.