Two weeks into HBO’s excellent 24/7 Rangers/Flyers: Road the NHL Winter Classic series, and there are five things we’d really love to see that have mysteriously been absent. HBO has confirmed that the NHL and respective teams (New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers) do have the right at the cutting room to cut any footage they deem too revealing, but we don’t think we’re asking too much for our list.

Without any further ado, here is our list in order. Just for fun, we’re including our probability of seeing this in the show.

1. The chemistry between Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Biron

HBO has yet to show us the chemistry between Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Biron. We hope this changes.

The New York Rangers arguably have the best goalie duo in the NHL, and yet we for some reason have seen very little of Martin Biron, the Rangers backup goalie acquired in the summer of 2010 as a free agent. After suffering from a broken collarbone in a freak practice accident last season, Biron has rebounded and performed excellent this year, credited with seven wins and one loss. He is the key to keeping Lundqvist fresh and ready for the postseason.

Biron’s importance to the team looks like it’s never been as important as the Rangers currently sit in first in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division. Barring any disastrous losing streak or string of injuries, it seems safe to say that the Rangers finally have the potential to make a deep run in the postseason.

We hear Martin Biron and Henrik Lundqvist are the best of friends, and I don’t see any reason why this wouldn’t be the case given the exceptional class and good personality both Lundqvist and Biron have. It would definitely be very enlightening to see more coverage of this duo.

Probability of HBO coverage: Low
It’s safe to say the final episode will largely cover the Winter Classic game itself, and tonight’s episode will probably feature a good amount of the Rangers wins over the Flyers and Devils. This topic seems to be lost in the details of the show.

2. Coverage of athletes suffering through concussion injuries

Michael Sauer

Concussions in the NHL seem to be striking more often and to marquee players as of late, and it would be very beneficial for fellow NHL athletes and fans at home to see more transparency in how concussions are dealt with in the NHL. We understand that diagnosing and treating concussions is still relatively in its infancy, but breakthroughs in this area of neurology continue to happen as years pass.

Although we got a nice look at Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers in a previous episode, viewers were eventually shown the door shut and that was the end of discussion for him. It is certainly understandable that anyone’s medical health is a private issue, but if at all possible, the benefit of hearing how trainers and specialists respond to athlete’s conditions would be enlightening.

The failure to discuss Chris Pronger’s severe post-concussion symptoms beyond footage of Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette  addressing the media is disappointing. It’s likely we’ll never know if Laviolette or Pronger requested that there was no further discussion on the issue. But to reduce the issue to a brief two minute segment on an hour show is surprising.

We’ve seen a similar lack of coverage on Marc Staal, although we at least heard Rangers head coach John Tortorella discuss his viewpoint on Staal’s return in last week’s episode. He essentially reiterated his stance when asked similar questions on MSG’s Behind the Bench with Bill Pidto. But Michael Sauer has completely been ignored beyond showing his collision with the boards where he sustained the concussion in the first place. Sauer has pretty much been a ghost in respect to addressing the media ever since, and we figured HBO would at least provide some level of insight into his recovery.

Probability of HBO coverage: Medium
Marc Staal recently was cleared for contact, so it is very likely that the topic will be revisited in either this week or the final episode of 24/7. But with only one week left after tonight’s episode, it’s doubtful we’ll hear anything about Sauer.

3.  Sean Avery and his lack of game time

We of course saw Sean Avery’s antics as well as his professional modeling in the premiere episode – but his healthy scratches in the past several Rangers games has yet to be addressed. Again, the point of HBO’s 24/7 is to provide uncensored, total access to the athletes, coaches, and inner workings of the team. While Tortorella has in the past refrained from addressing things he deems too personal to his athletes, he has certainly been very vocal about Avery and his fit (or lack thereof) on the team. If he can address the media without hesitation when the decision came to cut Avery from the starting roster, we don’t see why he won’t be willing to address HBO on his healthy scratches. We haven’t even seen Avery’s perspective on this issue either.

Probability of HBO coverage: Medium
We still have two episodes left, and the longer he goes a healthy scratch, the more it will become an inevitable question. 

4. Carl Hagelin and Stu Bickel’s rookie success

Carl Hagelin has been on fire with six goals, three assists and is currently a plus-eleven. He’s already had two games with two goals a night. The Rangers have also been 12-3-1 since Hagelin’s debut versus the Capitals on November 25. Stu Bickel has also been impressive with four assists and is currently a plus-four. It would really be great to see some footage of these great Rangers rookies and their early success in the NHL.

Probability of HBO coverage: High
It’s without a doubt that tonight’s episode will feature Hagelin’s recent goals, and it’s safe to say Bickel will earn camera time as well. 

5. The transformation of Citizens Bank Park

Curiously, the transformation of Citizens Bank Park to host the 2012 Winter Classic has been absent from the show.

Curiously, there has been virtually no coverage of the transformation of Citizens Bank Park to host the 2012 Winter Classic. We’re not sure if it is because there have been too many other topics to cover first, or because the park isn’t really “game ready” until the final days before the event. But it would certainly be interesting to see the inner workings of how a baseball field becomes the host to an outdoor winter NHL game.

We were shown the great footage of the Rangers equipment staff, revealing the logistics behind getting the player’s gear from practice to game. So it doesn’t seem unreasonable that we’ll get an inside look at the crews responsible for building the venue and creating the rink. There’s an awful lot of work involved to maintain ice conditions in a normal arena – now with an outside game, the challenge is even greater.

Probability of HBO coverage: High
It’s impossible HBO won’t cover this. It will most likely air in the final episode as footage before they show the actual Winter Classic game itself. We just hope it’s more than a time lapse video that we can see on NHL.com already.

We hope you enjoyed our list, and be sure to check out our recap articles of HBO’s 24/7 Rangers/Flyers: Road to the NHL Winter Classic for Episode 1 and Episode 2.