BUFFALO, N.Y. — Maybe it’s a chemistry thing. Maybe the Rangers are still trying to figure out exactly how to jell as a team after adding Patrick Kane to their roster 10 days ago. But something isn’t quite right with the Blueshirts at the moment. They’re searching for something.
But at least they're getting wins.
They got their second consecutive post-regulation win, beating the Sabres, 2-1, in overtime Saturday when Artemi Panarin scored the winner on a 4-on-3 power-play goal with 2:58 remaining.
Panarin buried the rebound of a shot by Adam Fox to give the Rangers their second win on the road trip, which concludes Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who was superb for the Rangers, made 33 saves and was named the game's first star.
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, who on Friday had told reporters that he hoped he wouldn’t have to switch up his forward lines, did just that in the third period, breaking up the Panarin-Kane combination and breaking up the Kid Line of Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko.
“I’m not going to put up with it for very much longer, if it’s gonna be turnovers, turnovers, two-on-ones against,’’ Gallant had told reporters. “You can’t keep doing that.’’
In this case, it was probably less about sloppy turnovers and more about the Rangers just not generating enough offense. So early in the third period, Gallant put out a first line of Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko, a second line of Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck and Kakko, and a third line of Lafrenière, Chytil and Kane.
It seemed to shake the Rangers into some life in the third, at least, after a listless second, in which they were outshot 12-4, and out-chanced, 9-1 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Rangers started off looking very much like the better team, as they dominated possession in the early part of the first period and ran out to a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. But at some point, the momentum shifted, the Sabres took over, and it felt like the visitors were lucky to escape the first period tied 0-0.
The Sabres, though, eventually broke through, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jeff Skinner, his 29th of the season, on a one-timer from the right wing circle off a pass from Ilya Lyubushkin.
Kane, a native of Buffalo, tied it for the Rangers, however, at 11:28 on a lucky bounce, when his backhand centering attempt from the bottom of the right circle hit the skate of Sabres defenseman Owen Power and deflected in past goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. It was Kane’s second goal as a Ranger, and his second in two games.
