It was far from easy, but the Rangers managed to secure two important points on the road Tuesday night at the First Niagara Center, skating to a 4-2 victory over the hard-working Buffalo Sabres.
Mats Zuccarello scored a goal and contributed two assists to the win, while Derick Brassard had a goal and an assist. Both players reached 50 points on the season, as well. It was the second time each had reached the 50-point plateau in their respective careers–Brassard registering a career-high 60 a year ago and Zuccarello leading the team with 59 two seasons ago.
Goaltender Antti Raanta started his third game in a row with Henrik Lundqvist sidelined by neck spasms and he sparkled between the pipes. Raanta, coming off Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the Islanders in which he allowed five goals, was terrific on Tuesday, finishing with 34 saves, including 19 in the third period alone.
“It was nice to come back from Sunday and get two points,” said Raanta following the game. “It wasn’t so easy, but we fought, and the guys really battled in front of me, and we got the two points.”
The Rangers seemed to have this one well in hand, skating to a 3-0 lead just 26 minutes into the contest, driving the Sabres starting goalie Robin Lehner to the bench in the process. However Buffalo responded by scoring twice before the second period was over, and very nearly tied the score before the arrival of the second intermission, as the Rangers lead was whittled to one, 3-2.
“We had a great start, a great first thirty minutes to the game, but then we let our foot off the gas (pedal),” explained Raanta.
Brassard scored a power play goal at the 7:30 mark of the first period to get the Rangers off on the right foot after Buffalo defenseman Zach Bogosian was whistled for a delay of game penalty 54 seconds prior. Zuccarello set up the goal by calmly circling in the neutral zone before zipping an alert pass between the two Sabres defensemen. That pass sprung Brassard on left wing, and he roofed his team-leading 24th goal high over Lehner’s blocker.
That goal was the only one scored in the first period, with Buffalo outshooting New York 8-6. The Sabres came within inches of scoring on two separate occasions in the opening twenty, but came up just short both times. Raanta made a spectacular sprawling save with his outstretched left skate to rob Buffalo’s Johan Larsson at 5:43; and rookie defenseman Brady Skjei–recalled on an emergency basis from Hartford with both Marc Staal and Dylan McIlrath out injured–swept a slithering puck out of the blue paint at 14:18 after Raanta got a piece of a screened blast.
Zuccarello scored a bad-angle goal at 4:38 of the second period to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. Derek Stepan chipped a pass to Zuccarello on right wing, and from near the goal line the Norwegian winger slipped a shot through Lehner’s five-hole for his 22nd goal of the season.
Lehner’s night came to an end one minute 27 seconds later when Jesper Fast stepped into a Brassard pass on right wing and blasted a slap shot far side past the Sabres goalie. Fast’s 10th goal, at 6:05, upped New York’s advantage to 3-0 and sent Lehner to the bench after he surrendered three goals on 14 shots.
Former Ranger Chad Johnson, who backstopped Buffalo’s 4-3 come-from-behind shootout win in Toronto Monday night, replaced Lehner and made several clutch save right off the bat, ultimately stopping all eight he faced the rest of period number two. In the meantime his teammates scored twice to work their way back into the game.
First rookie Sam Reinhart sprinted to the net in time to deflect a slick Jack Eichel centering pass past Raanta off an odd-man rush at 10:12, and then Larsson finished a quick passing play with Brian Gionta and Bogosian at 16:10 to make it 3-2.
“I think they were opportunistic, got some bounces and went the other way,” stated Stepan. “I thought for the most part it was a back and forth game, but there are definitely areas of the game we can be better in.”
The Rangers thought they may have regained a two-goal lead at 16:57 of the second when Eric Staal had several whacks at a loose puck in front and it seemed to cross the goal line. However the officials ruled against a goal being scored, explaining that Oscar Lindberg had pushed Johnson into the net.
That no-goal call loomed even larger nearly three minutes later as the clock winded down and Raanta came way out of his net to stone a wide-open Nicolas Deslauriers shortly before the buzzer.
“He’s been good for us,” Stepan said of Raanta, who is now 8-5-2 in 19 appearances on the season and has won four of his last five starts. “He’s been solid for us and big time for us.”
The third period was completely owned by the Sabres, who out shot New York 19-4. However the Rangers killed off a pair of Sabres power plays and received some splendid work in goal by Raanta; and then J.T. Miller scored his 18th goal, into the empty net, with one minute to play in regulation to seal the victory.
“There was lots of pressure in our end, but I still have to give lots of credits to our guys–blocking shots, and if I made the save and there was a rebound they were there to clear it away,” explained Raanta. “It was a big battle for everybody, and it wasn’t so easy, but it’s nice to get the win.”
The Rangers will have three days between games, next skating in Detroit against the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon.
Jim Cerny
BlueshirtsUnited.com
(Reprinted with permission of New York Rangers)
