The Rangers picked up a much needed 3-2 win over the Sabres despite allowing a pair of goals in the last five minutes to the third period. New York got tallies from Mika Zibanejad, his 300th of his career on the power play, Reilly Smith, at even strength, and Adam Fox, his first of the season, into an empty-net. The Blueshirts face LA at home on Saturday before taking on the Blues in St. Louis on Sunday.
1) Despite taking a penalty 20 seconds into the game, I thought Mika was far more engaged than he was Monday night. He looked more like the player we saw last Friday and a few years ago. Zibanejad looked to be on his toes and emoting a lot more confidence than what we had seen most of the season, even beyond the PPG. But that goal showed Zib looking to shoot and not hesitating, as has been the norm this year. His line with Chris Kreider and Smith wasn't nearly as effective as whole, though, with the Sabres out-attempting them, 18-7, with a 4-1 edge in high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.
2) Fourth line - adding Brett Berard to this trio has given it a new identity. Sam Carrick has been good all season as has Adam Enstrom. Jimmy Vesey is solid too, but Berard, as seen below, just hunts pucks and is a bowling ball on the ice. He has a relentless motor, brining energy and effort throughout every shift. His young legs have aided this line. Each member of the line drew a penalty yesterday and they were one of the two New York forward trios to out-attempt Buffalo (10-8)
3) As Vince Mercogliano noted, the Rangers' best trio in Buffalo featured Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière. They didn't get a goal to show for their effort, but the Blueshirts out-attempted the Sabres while they were on the ice, 15-6, with a 4-0 advantage in HD chances. Panarin and Trocheck each notched assists while Trocheck was extremely feisty in the contest, dropping the gloves with Nicolas Aube-Kubel
4) Buffalo controlled play for good part of the second and all of the third. Fox’s ENG proved a lifesaver when Tage Thompson scored to make it 3-2. At five-on-five, the Sabres led the third period 25-8 in shot attempts and 11-3 in shots, per Natural Stat Trick. If you are going to try and close out a win, that is certainly not the way to do it.
5) Fox, who also had his best game in weeks, had a point on all three Rangers' goals (one goal and two assists) while leading the team with 24:14 TOI and five blocked shots. High-danger chances were 8-2 New York with him on the ice, the best percentage of any defensemen. For all the talk about how poor his year has been, without Fox, the team’s blue line would be a nightmare.
6) K'Andre Miller missed the third period with what the team deemed an upper-body injury. It's unclear exactly when he sustained it − though as Mercogliano noted - the best guess is a hit from Jordan Greenway that knocked him down 8:08 into second period, although Miller took four more shifts after that. While Miller has been far from good, losing the 24-year-old would be a blow to a D corps that's already thinned out in the aftermath of trading Jacob Trouba to Anaheim last week. If Miller is sidelined, maybe Matthew Robertson gets his first chance to play. If not, Connor Mackey , Chad Ruhwedel or Casey Fitzgerald likely slide into his spot.
7) NHL Network had a segment called “What's Wrong with the Rangers”
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