BUFFALO — If the NHL schedule maker didn’t do the Rangers any favors setting them up to play the Colorado Avalanche in the back end of a back-to-back Wednesday at the Garden, then someone tried to make it up to the Blueshirts by scheduling them to visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
And, 48 hours after their seven-game winning streak was snapped by the high-flying Avalanche, the Rangers got back on the winning track with a 2-1 victory over the struggling Sabres in a half-empty KeyBank Center that sounded as if it had as many, or more, Ranger fans present. But they did not play particularly well, and the score was too close for the Rangers’ liking.
Mika Zibanejad’s first goal in 15 games, and one by Alexis Lafreniere was all the offense the Rangers could muster as they won for the 12th time in the last 14 games and improved their record to 18-5-3. And an apparent tying goal for Buffalo in the final minute was disallowed after video review.
Ultimately, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, starting for the third time in four games since Igor Shesterkin went down with a right leg injury, played his strongest game of the season, making 36 saves and improving his record to 5-1-1. Georgiev had started in net for the Rangers the last time they played Buffalo, on Nov. 21, but he was pulled in favor of Shesterkin after allowing four goals in two periods. This time, he was the Rangers’ best player, by far.
Coming off their 7-3 loss to Colorado Wednesday, forward Ryan Strome said at Friday’s morning skate that the Rangers weren’t about to look past the lowly Sabres, despite their 1-8-1 record over the previous 10 games.
"I think we’ve done a good job in maturing in that sense and not taking anyone lightly or changing the way we play for the most part,’’ he said. "I think they’ve got a lot of skilled players, and the last time we played them [a 5-4 win Nov. 21 in Madison Square Garden] wasn’t an easy game. It’s the NHL. There’s no easy nights. We’ve got to bounce back from what we played last game.’’
They got off to a fast start when Zibanejad gave them a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal, his fifth goal of the season, at 4:48 of the first period. Artemi Panarin tried a cross-ice pass to Strome that deflected off Buffalo’s Mark Jankowski and went right to Zibanejad, alone down by the left goalpost. He collected and banked a shot in off goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the goal.
Aided by two power plays, the Rangers dominated possession in the first period and seemed as though they should have built a bigger lead. They needed a tremendous glove save from Georgiev on Vinnie Hinostroza with 1:50 remaining in the period to hold on to the lead despite a 12-6 advantage in shots on goal for the period.
Georgiev, who struggled badly to start the season, has steadily grown in confidence and sharpness as he’s been called on to play regularly with Shesterkin on injured reserve. There were times in the second period when he was keeping the Rangers in the game with some high-quality saves, the most impressive being his right pad save on a breakaway try by Buffalo’s Zemgus Girgensons.
Georgiev’s work in the nets kept the Rangers’ skinny lead in place until Alexis Lafreniere banged in the rebound of an Adam Fox shot to make it 2-0 at 9:47. And then Georgiev was called on to make a couple saves on the penalty kill after Jacob Trouba was sent off for hooking at 11:17.
The Rangers never could put the Sabres away, and finally Brett Murray jammed one in off a goalmouth scramble with 5:23 remaining to get Buffalo on the board.
The Sabres pulled their goalie and appeared to tie the game with 56.2 seconds remaining, but video review determined the Sabres had been offside entering the Rangers’ zone, so the goal was disallowed.
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