Rangers vs. Sabres: Lineups, storylines for final home game at MSG
Looking to end the home portion of their schedule on a high note, the New York Rangers play their final game at Madison Square Garden this season when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
The Rangers (33-36-9) seek their third straight win and are 5-1-0 over the first six of this season-long seven-game homestand. They’ll finish up the 2025-26 season with road games at the Dallas Stars (Saturday), Florida Panthers (Monday), and Tampa Bay Lightning (next Wednesday).
It wasn’t pretty much of the season on home ice for the Rangers, who lost their first six contests at MSG (0-5-1), and were shut out a stunning five times in that stretch. The opposite is taking place right now, since the Rangers appear nearly unbeatable at The Garden.
They’re coming off impressive consecutive victories this past weekend over a pair of teams in the thick of the playoff race. The Rangers smoked the Washington Capitals 8-1 on Sunday, after skating past the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Saturday. The Rangers outscored the opposition 27-8 on this homestand, so far.
“I think it’s important,” forward Tye Kartye said Tuesday following practice. “Obviously, we want home ice to be an advantage for us. Playing at Madison Square Garden as a road team, I know it can not be very fun. So, to have that energy in there and have a good finish here is important for us.”
The Rangers are 14-19-7 at MSG, and their 14 home wins are fewest in the Eastern Conference and fourth fewest in the entire League.
They’ll face a stiff test Wednesday, when the red-hot Sabres (47-23-8) pay a visit. Buffalo qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs already, ending an NHL-record 14-season drought not making the playoffs. With four games remaining, the Sabres are in a three-way tie with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic Division, each with 102 points.
Buffalo’s lost two of three after winning two in a row.
The season series is tied at one win apiece. The Rangers blanked the Sabres 4-0 up in Buffalo in their first road contest back on Oct. 9. Three months later, the Sabres skated out of The Garden with a 5-2 win over the Rangers.
3 storylines when Rangers host Sabres
1. Don’t get Buffaloed
Since the Olympic break, the Rangers are playing well. With a victory Wednesday, the Rangers would have three winning streaks of three games or more since returning to action Feb. 26, They are 11-7-3 in 21 games since the break, and 9-6-1 since March 9.
However, that pales in comparison to the Sabres, who shot out of a cannon, so to speak, after a rough first two months of the season. Coinciding with the firing of general manager Kevyn Adams, the Sabres are 36-9-4 since Dec. 9. Winning streaks of 10, 8, 5, and 4 games are included in that run.
“They’ve jumped to the top of the Atlantic this year, and really had a lot of younger players grow into their own,” Rangers forward Conor Sheary explained. “They’re a tough team to play against. They have high skill. They can score tons of goals, and you just have to be aware of them all over the ice. Obviously, it’s a team playing with confidence right now, so we’ve got to be ready for them.”
The Sabres are seventh in the NHL, averaging 3.40 goals scored per game. They have two 30-goal scorers leading the way — U.S. Olympic gold medalist Tage Thompson (38) and pending UFA forward Alex Tuch (30). Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is sixth among NHL defensemen with 70 points (18 goals, 52 assists) in 71 games.
2. Fan Appreciation Night
The Rangers will give the shirts off their backs — literally — as part of an annual tradition following their final home game of the regular season. Though it’s been a thoroughly disappointing year, and the Blueshirts Faithful aired displeasure repeatedly as the Rangers plummeted to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, there’s an unbreakable bond between this team and its fans.
So, this is a bittersweet night, the end of another season — and another one without winning the Stanley Cup, or even a postseason appearance. Make it 12 years since their latest run to the Stanley Cup Final, 22 since the most recent Stanley Cup championship, one title in 86 years, and four in their 100 years as an Original Six franchise.
“Every game at The Garden, we want to make the fans happy,” Will Cuylle said. “Their passionate and they care a lot about the team, so to give them something to cheer about is good, especially at this point of the season.”
3. Speaking of Cools
Cuylle’s come alive down the stretch, with four goals in his past three games following a season-long 13-game goal scoring drought. That includes his first NHL hat trick Sunday against the Capitals, which brough his season total to 20 goals, equaling his output from 2024-25.
“I’m happy for Will, he hadn’t scored in a while, and to get a trick, it’s hard to score in this league … so a guy scores three goals in a game, that’s something to be celebrated,” coach Mike Sullivan stated after the morning skate. “He should feel good about that. He had a great game for us.”
Along with Gabe Perreault’s first career hatty on Saturday, the Rangers recorded hat tricks in consecutive games for the first time since 2016, and on consecutive days for the first time since 1982.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Alexis Lafreniere — Mika Zibanejad — Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle — Vincent Trocheck — Jonny Brodzinski
Tye Kartye — J.T. Miller — Conor Sheary
Jaroslav Chmelar — Noah Laba — Adam Sykota
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Matthew Robertson — Will Borgen
Drew Fortescue — Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Sabres: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Buffalo Sabres
When: Wednesday April 8 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to watch: MSG, TNT, HBO Max, TruTV
