Score: New York Rangers 2 | Buffalo Sabres 8
Shots: NYR 28 | BUF 33
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Jack Quinn (10), Rasmus Dahlin (9,10-PP), Tage Thompson (27,28), Ryan McLeod (13,14), Henri Jokiharju (3)
New York Rangers Goals: Chris Kreider (18-PP), Mika Zibanejad (13),
Plus-1: Welcome Back, Greenway!
In the words of Dan Dunleavy, “Greenway helped start it all” as Jack Quinn read his linemate’s pass perfectly to give the Sabres an early lead. Just a few minutes into the opening period, Quinn’s shot dribbled underneath the left pad of goaltender Igor Shesterkin. Later in the period, Greenway’s hard work paid off again as he battled for the puck in the Rangers’ zone, wiggled around four opponents, and let a nice wrister rip into the net. While he was not credited with the goal (the puck grazed Rasmus Dahlin in its travels), it was Greenway who did most of the work for both goals.
Plus-2: A Truly Riveting First Period
More ‘dynamite’ scoring continued for the home team as Tage Thompson fought his own battle for the puck along the boards. TNT’s goal slid under Shesterkin’s pads, too, but that would not be all for an outstanding first period. Ryan McLeod would get his own before Dahlin got on the board again with his second goal of the game to give the Sabres an impressive 5-0 lead with over a minute to spare and a goaltender change before the first intermission.
Shout out to Rob Ray for taking a puck to the face, too:
Minus-1: Two Unanswered
The Rangers made sure to respond to an embarrassing first period with two of their own goals, one with the man-advantage thanks to winger Chris Kreider. With their second goal, by Mika Zibanejad, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had the initial save, but could not control the rebound, giving New York two unanswered goals and, as it turned out, the only two from either team in the second period. Before the period expired, there was a close call when Artemi Panarin’s shot came dangerously close to the back of the net, but Dahlin swatted it away just in time to keep the score at 5-2…for the time being.
Plus-3: Return of the Cushion
Buffalo regained their five-goal cushion (and then some) beginning with Thompson, who tallied his 28th of the season. Another dribbler past a different goaltender (Jonathan Quick), it was TNT who played it nicely off the boards through the neutral zone to fire it and earn the 6-2 advantage. Would it end there, though? Nope! Like Thompson and Dahlin, McLeod earned his second goal of the game following some magical backhand to forehand stick handling. Jason Zucker was credited with the assist, his third of the game and 200th of his career.
Final Thoughts
Though there is very little to fight for as far as the remainder of the Sabres’ season goes, tonight was a fun one with multiple offensive contributers. Henri Jokiharju put the nail in the coffin with the team’s eighth and final goal of the matchup – a fine way to come back after the Four Nations tournament break.
Next up: Buffalo hosts the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday with the puck drop at 7:00 PM.
Three Stars:
1. Rasmus Dahlin (2G,1A)
2. Tage Thompson (2G,1A)
3. Ryan McLeod (2G,+3)