Rangers get Unlucky Bounces in Loss to the Sabres

Couldn’t catch a break as they were on the short end of the bouncing puck

New York, NY- The New York Rangers were back at Madison Square Garden to honor those former Rangers who were the fan favorites from many seasons ago, from the goalies to the forwards, and those who dropped the gloves and gave hard punches to the opposition. On this night, they were the ones who got punched as the Buffalo Sabres came in and got some good bounces to defeat the Rangers by a final of five to two.

A bad clear that gave a second chance

Mika Zibanejad tried to clear the puck out of his zone, coughed it up back to a Sabres defender, and that gave them a second chance to get a shot attempt. Jason Zucker blocked the clear, and the puck deflected toward the near point as Mattias Samuelsson picked the puck up and skated toward the far side. He took the shot at the net, and it was stopped by Jonathan Quick, but the rebound went toward Josh Doan, and he put the rebound home at 4:06 of the first period.

No call, and an easy shot goes in

There was a battle in the middle of the Sabres’ zone as Vincent Trocheck was roughed and taken down with a Sabres stick inside his skates. He couldn’t get back to help defend, or couldn’t get to the bench fast enough to make a change. That’s when the Sabres took advantage, as Bowen Byram had possession of the puck and entered the Rangers’ zone. He passed it to Alec Tuch, as he snapped a shot off the inside of the near post and in at 6:58 of the second period.

After the goal was scored, Trocheck complained to the referee about the non-call for getting roughed, and never stopped until the officials had enough and sent him to the penalty box for a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Big rip from Mika

The Rangers finally got on the board after killing off that penalty to Trocheck, then started to make a rush up ice. Artemi Panarin skated down the near side and waited for help to join him, as it became a three-on-two. He surveyed the play and saw space for a cross-ice pass to Mika Zibanejad, who entered the far faceoff circle. The one-timer by Zibanejad was blasted into the net at 9:34 of the second period

Pinballed past Quick

The Sabres went to the power play to try and get back their two-goal lead. Tage Thompson was at the near corner and sent the puck back to the top of the Rangers’ zone. Rasmus Dahlin took the hard shot that was stopped by Quick, but the rebound popped up and hit Jason Zucker from behind, as his back was toward the net, and went over Quick and dropped in at 12:34 of the second period.

It slid through the pads

As the Rangers’ power play carried over from the end of the second period into the third period, it expired, and both teams were back to even strength. Panarin got control of the puck at the near side and made a pass to J.T. Miller, who returned from the injury list. He entered the zone and saw Trocheck skating down the far side. Made the pass, then Trocheck took a shot that slid through the pads of Colton Ellis and cut the deficit back to one at 51 seconds of the third period.

Bad luck again on the power play

The Rangers had a double minor for a high stick that caught Trocheck bleeding. After winning the faceoff at the far circle, Alexis Lafreniere lost the handle, and Ryan McLeod stole the puck and sent Samuelsson down the far side. When he got close to the icing line, Samuelsson somehow took a shot that just went over the right shoulder of Quick and hit the inside of the top of the net for a short-handed goal that deflated the Rangers at 14:38 of the third period.

Empty net and disappointment

After the double minor ended, the Rangers continued to get that third goal, but sadly, McLeod found a way to get that puck into the empty net at 18:30 of the third period to give the Rangers a regulation loss. These games at Madison Square Garden are just baffling, as they had a magical Winter Classic road game in Miami, then had a decent game against the Mammoth, but lost in overtime.

Now they were facing a hot Sabres team, and while they did make mistakes on some of the goals, the way the puck bounced against them was also damaging and disappointing. It’s becoming tiresome to see them not capitalizing on the momentum from a great game last Friday, only to now drop three of their last four points in these two home games.

“I thought we played a good game. You know, I thought we played hard. I thought we competed hard. I thought we were trying to play the game the right way. However, we generated a fair amount of scoring chances. I thought we defended pretty hard. I mean, it wasn’t perfect by any stretch. Give Buffalo credit. They’re a pretty good team.

They’re an opportunistic team. They beat a lot of teams lately. And, you know, I thought for a lot of the night, I thought we played pretty hard. I thought the third period was our best period in a while. Just the push, the energy, the willingness to compete, the physicality, both offensively and defensively, getting inside at the net.

All the things we’re asking them to do, I thought, were there. You know, we had a number of opportunities to tie the game, and it was 3-2. We couldn’t seem to break through. We were all around the net. Um, it’s unfortunate when they get the shorthanded goal because we had a pretty good opportunity there,” said head Coach Mike Sullivan

ARTEMI PANARIN: Notched his 600th career assist and extended his assist streak to five-straight games (8A), the longest active streak among all NHL skaters. He has tallied 14 multi-point games this season and has recorded at least two points in four-straight games (2G-7A), tied for the second-longest active streak in the league.

MIKA ZIBANEJAD:  Scored his 16th goal of the season, which was the eighth-consecutive goal he factored on and tied for the second-longest streak in Rangers franchise history (Rod Gilbert, 1967-68 season). He extended his point streak to four-straight games (4G-5A) and his 16 goals are tied for the most on the Blueshirts this season.

VINCENT TROCHECK: Has scored a goal in back-to-back games, extending his point streak to five-straight games (3G-3A). His 11 goals this season rank third on the Rangers, and his 26 points rank fourth.

J.T. MILLER: Returned to the ice after missing seven games due to injury and tallied an assist on Vincent Trocheck’s goal.

New York Rangers News:

• Rangers fall in Overtime to the Mammoth
• Reminising the Rangers Outdoor Victories
• Rangers Perfect Winter Classic Record Stays Intact, Beats the Panthers Handedly

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