Sabres down Rangers, 3-2

It was another great night for Buffalo’s special teams, who had two power play goals and went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, earning their first home win of the season Tuesday night. 

Linus Ullmark continued his hot streak with 28 saves, keeping the Sabres (3-3-1) on top through the final period. While Alexandar Georgiev stopped 21 shots for the Rangers.

Per.TimeEVGoalAssistAssist
16:28Chris Kreider (2)Pavel Buchnevich (3)---
112:50PPGDylan Cozens (2)Eric Staal (2)Rasmus Ristolainen (3)
119:53K'Andre Miller (1)Colin Blackwell (1)Brendan Lemieux (1)
26:03Tobias Rieder (2)Matt Irwin (1)---
27:31PPGJack Eichel (1)Victor Olofsson (3)Rasmus Dahlin (1)


The first period took a typical turn as the Rangers (1-4-1) started off on the board first. Chris Kreider scored off a turnover at 6:28. Sabres rookie, Dylan Cozens, who was recalled from the taxi squad, tied the game at one on the power play — Rasmussen Ristolainen, who played in his 500th NHL game tonight, passed the puck to Eric Staal who then hit Cozens with the one-timer. 

So far, Cozens has scored a goal (2) in each of the games he has (Friday and Tuesday night). The Rangers stole back the lead with just 7 seconds left in the period — K’Andre Miller hit a slap shot from the point through traffic. 

Returning for the second, the Sabres served a penalty at 4:01 for too many men on the ice. Two seconds following the Sabres penalty kill, at 6:03, Tobias Rieder scored to tie the game at two. Almost a minute and a half later, Jack Eichel scored his first regulation goal on the power play, bringing Buffalo ahead 3-2. 

With that goal, Eichel tied Jochen Hecht for the 19th-most goals in franchise history (138). He now trails Drew Stafford by seven goals for 18th and has 8 points this far into the season. Buffalo ended the second and held on through the third period to seal the 3-2 victory. The Rangers didn’t make it easy with a 15-2 shots deficit and a 6-on-4 power play, with Georgiev pulled from the net, in the final 1:37 of play.

The two teams will conclude their two-game series Thursday night, staying at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, at 7 p.m. 

Abbi Kamano
Abbi Kamano
Penn State Alumni. Faithful & optimistic Sabres fan. On my journey to a full-time hockey career.
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