Rangers Beaten By The Sabres 4-3
For the second straight game the
Rangers faced a non-playoff team with a chance to clinch their own berth
in the Stanley Cup playoffs Saturday night at Madison Square Garden,
but as they did Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, the
Rangers could not manage to find a way to beat the Buffalo Sabres,
instead losing by the score of 4-3.
Trailing by a pair entering the third period, the Rangers quickly cut their deficit to one on a Derek Stepan goal just 4:52 into the period. Stationed to the side of the Sabres net, Stepan redirected a low, hard Chris Kreider shot into the net for his 19th goal of the season, making to the score 4-3 and bringing The Garden alive.
Later in the period the Blueshirts had a great opportunity to pull even--and possibly move ahead of the Sabres--but they failed to score during a full two-minute five-on-three power play which began at 12:12. The Rangers managed three shots on goal, but were unable to net the equalizer, a major missed opportunity for the home team.
The Rangers spotted the Sabres a three-goal lead before one minute had elapsed in the second period, then scored two of the next three goals in the contest to be within striking distance, trailing 4-2, by time the second intermission arrived.
Just as they had been Thursday night in Carolina, the Rangers were badly outplayed in the opening period Saturday, though they did manage a 9-7 advantage in shots. Buffalo's Ryan O'Reilly scored twice less than three minutes apart to lift the Sabres to a 2-0 lead in the first period.
O'Reilly was left all alone in the slot and he beat Henrik Lundqvist at 10:07 before scoring his 20th goal of the season at 12:59 off a gorgeous 2-on-1 feed from high-flying rookie Jack Eichel after a Kevin Klein misplay at the Rangers blue line.
The closest New York came to scoring in the opening twenty minutes was at the 15:41 mark of the period when Dan Girardi's one-timer off a perfect cross-crease pass from J.T. Miller was barely kept out of the net on a stretching skate save by Sabres goalie Chad Johnson, the former Ranger who was appearing in his 100th National Hockey League game.
It took the Sabres only 46 seconds to score in the second period, ending Lundqvist's night at that point. Lundqvist left a big rebound between the circles and Buffalo's Zemgus Girgensons rifled the disc into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season and third against New York.
Head coach Alain Vigneault turned to backup goalie Antti Raanta at that point, summoning him from the end of the Rangers bench to replace Lundqvist who stopped only six of nine Buffalo shots.
Two minutes later the Blueshirts found their way on to the scoreboard when Kevin Hayes netted his 13th goal--and first in seven games--at 2:58 of the second period. Eric Staal made the play by pushing the puck in deep behind the Sabres net and then beating the defenseman to it. He then spun a perfect pass on to the stick of Hayes who made no mistake in beating Johnson.
Staal now has three points in his last three games. Jesper Fast also picked up an assist on teh goal, his third helper in the past three games.
Raanta did a credible job keeping the Rangers close with several strong saves over the next several minutes, but his miscommunication with Keith Yandle later in the period led directly to Buffalo's fourth goal of the night. The Rangers pair misplayed a handoff by the side of Raanta's cage and Sabres forward Cal O'Reilly quickly grabbed the puck and poked it out in front where Matt Moulson converted the turnover into his seventh goal at 13:09.
Before the period was over, however, the Rangers got a clutch goal from Miller in the final minute of play to cut the deficit back to two. Ryan McDonagh hammered a left wing slap shot off the back boards and the puck bounced straight to Miller at the bottom of the right circle. Miller wasted no time in zipping a shot past the out-of-position Johnson for his 22nd goal of the season with 34.7 seconds remaining in the period to make the score 4-2.
Trailing by a pair entering the third period, the Rangers quickly cut their deficit to one on a Derek Stepan goal just 4:52 into the period. Stationed to the side of the Sabres net, Stepan redirected a low, hard Chris Kreider shot into the net for his 19th goal of the season, making to the score 4-3 and bringing The Garden alive.
Later in the period the Blueshirts had a great opportunity to pull even--and possibly move ahead of the Sabres--but they failed to score during a full two-minute five-on-three power play which began at 12:12. The Rangers managed three shots on goal, but were unable to net the equalizer, a major missed opportunity for the home team.
The Rangers spotted the Sabres a three-goal lead before one minute had elapsed in the second period, then scored two of the next three goals in the contest to be within striking distance, trailing 4-2, by time the second intermission arrived.
Just as they had been Thursday night in Carolina, the Rangers were badly outplayed in the opening period Saturday, though they did manage a 9-7 advantage in shots. Buffalo's Ryan O'Reilly scored twice less than three minutes apart to lift the Sabres to a 2-0 lead in the first period.
O'Reilly was left all alone in the slot and he beat Henrik Lundqvist at 10:07 before scoring his 20th goal of the season at 12:59 off a gorgeous 2-on-1 feed from high-flying rookie Jack Eichel after a Kevin Klein misplay at the Rangers blue line.
The closest New York came to scoring in the opening twenty minutes was at the 15:41 mark of the period when Dan Girardi's one-timer off a perfect cross-crease pass from J.T. Miller was barely kept out of the net on a stretching skate save by Sabres goalie Chad Johnson, the former Ranger who was appearing in his 100th National Hockey League game.
It took the Sabres only 46 seconds to score in the second period, ending Lundqvist's night at that point. Lundqvist left a big rebound between the circles and Buffalo's Zemgus Girgensons rifled the disc into the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season and third against New York.
Head coach Alain Vigneault turned to backup goalie Antti Raanta at that point, summoning him from the end of the Rangers bench to replace Lundqvist who stopped only six of nine Buffalo shots.
Two minutes later the Blueshirts found their way on to the scoreboard when Kevin Hayes netted his 13th goal--and first in seven games--at 2:58 of the second period. Eric Staal made the play by pushing the puck in deep behind the Sabres net and then beating the defenseman to it. He then spun a perfect pass on to the stick of Hayes who made no mistake in beating Johnson.
Staal now has three points in his last three games. Jesper Fast also picked up an assist on teh goal, his third helper in the past three games.
Raanta did a credible job keeping the Rangers close with several strong saves over the next several minutes, but his miscommunication with Keith Yandle later in the period led directly to Buffalo's fourth goal of the night. The Rangers pair misplayed a handoff by the side of Raanta's cage and Sabres forward Cal O'Reilly quickly grabbed the puck and poked it out in front where Matt Moulson converted the turnover into his seventh goal at 13:09.
Before the period was over, however, the Rangers got a clutch goal from Miller in the final minute of play to cut the deficit back to two. Ryan McDonagh hammered a left wing slap shot off the back boards and the puck bounced straight to Miller at the bottom of the right circle. Miller wasted no time in zipping a shot past the out-of-position Johnson for his 22nd goal of the season with 34.7 seconds remaining in the period to make the score 4-2.
Apr 2 - 9:39pm by JimCerny
FINAL STATS
NY RANGERS 3 BUFFALO SABRES 4 FINAL
SOG: NYR 36 BUF 24
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
10:07 BUF Ryan O'Reilly (19) Snap shot - ASST: Zach Bogosian (17) 1 - 0 BUF
12:59 BUF Ryan O'Reilly (20) Snap shot - ASST: Jack Eichel (29), Mark Pysyk (9) 2 - 0 BUF
2nd Period
00:46 BUF Zemgus Girgensons (7) Snap shot - ASST: Johan Larsson (7), Brian Gionta (21) 3 - 0 BUF
02:58 NYR Kevin Hayes (13) Wrist shot - ASST: Eric Staal (26), Jesper Fast (19) 3 - 1 BUF
13:09 BUF Matt Moulson (7) Backhand shot - ASST: Cal O'Reilly (4) 4 - 1 BUF
19:25 NYR J.T. Miller (22) Wrist shot - ASST: Ryan McDonagh (25), Derick Brassard (31) 4 - 2 BUF
3rd Period
04:52 NYR Derek Stepan (19) Tip-in - ASST: Chris Kreider (20), Kevin Klein (15) 4 - 3 BUF
PENALTY SUMMARY
1st Period
16:06 NYR Dominic Moore Slashing - 2 min against Zemgus Girgensons
2nd Period
06:55 NYR Jesper Fast Hooking - 2 min against Nicolas Deslauriers
3rd Period
01:48 BUF Jack Eichel Delaying Game-Puck over glass - 2 min against J.T. Miller
12:12 BUF Casey Nelson Hooking - 2 min against Jesper Fast
12:12 BUF Mark Pysyk Interference - 2 min against Eric Staal
FINAL TEAM STATS
Power Plays: NYR 0/3 BUF 0/2
Hits: NYR 29 BUF 22
Faceoff Wins: NYR 29 BUF 31
Giveaways: NYR 13 BUF 6
Takeaways: NYR 13 BUF 12
Blocked Shots: NYR 12 BUF 17
Penalty Minutes: NYR 4 BUF 6
NYR FINAL FACEOFF%: Barassard 40%, Moore 25%, Staal 50%, Stepan 56%, Hayes 56%, Miller 67%
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. BUF Ryan O'Reilly
2. BUF Jack Eichel
3. NYR Antti Raanta
NEXT GAME
The Rangers travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets Monday April 4 7:00 PM
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