Adam Fox scores 1st goal, Rangers edge Sabres 3-2 for much-needed win
Adam Fox scored his first goal of the season and Mika Zibanejad netted the 300th of his NHL career to lead the New York Rangers to a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.
Fox had a point on each of New York’s goals, assisting on the first two before scoring an empty-net goal late in the third period that made it 3-1. That goal held up as the game winner when Tage Thompson answered back for the Sabres with less than a minute to play in regulation.
It was an important victory for the Rangers (15-12-1), who’ve won just three times in their past 11 games (3-8-0) and ended a two-game skid. And it was a bit of payback too since the Sabres steamrolled the Rangers 6-1 on Nov. 7 at MSG.
This time, the Rangers played a far less sloppy brand of hockey, though the Sabres did take it to them in the third period. Buffalo outshot New York 16-5 in the final 20 minutes but never was able to tie the game after Zibanejad opened the scoring 7:01 into the first period with his milestone goal.
Reilly Smith also scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 29 saves. However, not all the news was good for the Blueshirts, who lost defenseman K’Andre Miller to an upper-body injury. He did not play in the third period.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was terrific between the pipes for Buffalo, which lost its eighth straight game (0-5-3). Luukkonen made 25 saves. Owen Power scored the Sabres’ other goal.
Related: Do Mika Zibanejad’s struggles stem from being ‘too sensitive’?
New York Rangers 3 – Buffalo Sabres 2
The Rangers got the start they were seeking when Zibanejad blistered a power-play goal from the right circle off a seam pass from Artemi Panarin just 7:01 into the game to grab an important 1-0 lead. Not only was it his 300th NHL goal, it was Zibanejad’s sixth goal of the season and only his second on the power play. So, the goal was as big for him — especially after a rough outing against the Chicago Blackhawks in a 2-1 loss Monday — as it was for the team.
Fox did a good job keeping the puck in at the blue line after a failed clearing attempt by Power. Panarin and Zibanejad then did the rest. Power was benched the remainder of the period by Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, though he returned to full duty in the second period.
That 1-0 Rangers lead carried into the first intermission in large part because Luukkonen was sharp at one end of the ice while Shesterkin was barely tested at the other. The Rangers held an 11-7 shots advantage, skated well and were the much more physically engaged team. New York was credited with 15 hits in the first period — three apiece for Will Cuylle and Alexis Lafreniere — to only four for Buffalo.
The Sabres seemed to wake up a bit in the second period, but were still outshot 12-8. They did have the best scoring chance of the period, but Alex Tuch shot wide glove side against Shesterkin on a breakaway at 3:23.
That was a rare breakdown defensively for the Rangers during the opening 40 minutes. They defended hard and the Sabres had few answers, largely being kept to the outside with their shot attempts.
Luukkonen, though, was the equalizer stopping all 12 Rangers shots in the second period. That included a quick reaction on a Panarin snipe off the rush on right wing at 4:35, and a pair of beauties on the same shift midway through the period, when he first stoned Vincent Trocheck down-low from his knees and then flashed a quick glove to rob Chris Kreider on a one-time blast from the left circle.
Shesterkin opened the third period with a sharp glove save at the end of a carryover Sabres power play, and stood strong to deny Power, who collided with the Rangers goalie after he drove a shot on goal moments later.
With the Rangers on a power play early in third, looking to take a two-goal lead, it was the Sabres who had the better scoring chances. First, defenseman Connor Clifton rang a short-handed shot off the post stick side behind Shesterkin on a 1-on-1 with Zibanejad defending at 2:51. Then, Shesterkin stood tall to deny Tuch off a 2-on-2 short-handed rush at 3:09.
The scoring chances slowed down as the period progressed, but the intensity didn’t. Trocheck objected to a reverse shoulder check by Buffalo’s Nicolas Aube-Kubel and two forwards dropped the gloves for a quick fight at 9:36.
The Rangers finally did get that second goal at 13:29 to take a 2-0 lead. With Luukkonen scrambling, a Fox shot caromed back towards the blue paint off the back boards, and Smith chipped the rebound off Power and into the open net for his sixth goal of the season.
Power gained some redemption when he ended Shesterkin’s shutout bid at 15:09. The defenseman wired a right-wing shot far side past Shesterkin moments after a wild scramble. It was his fourth goal of the season and came on Buffalo’s 27th shot of the night.
The Sabres pulled Luukkonen for an extra attacker with two and a half minutes to play. The Rangers iced the puck twice shooting at the empty net from their own end — once apiece by Trocheck and Fox. But Fox’s second attempt with a long-range shot slid into the empty net at 17:58 to make it 3-1.
However, the Sabres didn’t quit. With Luukkonen again on the bench, Thompson hammered a one-timer from the left dot over Shesterkin’s glove to make it 3-2 at 19:22. However, the Rangers closed out the final 38 seconds without issue and secured the much-needed victory.
Able to breath a sigh of relief, the Rangers next will host the Los Angeles Kings in a Saturday matinee at Madison Square Garden.
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