BUFFALO, N.Y. _ We don't know exactly how long the Rangers' admitted rebuilding project is scheduled to last. Across the ice from them Friday night, though, the Blueshirts had a pretty good look at a team that hit bottom a year ago, got the No. 1 pick in the draft, and now is on the ascent.
The Buffalo Sabres had the worst record in the league last season, but after drafting Rasmus Dahlin, the Swedish defenseman, with the first pick overall, and signing a few impact free agents, the Sabres are 28-22-7, and challenging for a playoff spot this season. The Rangers, though, despite losing defenseman Brady Skjei to a lower-body injury, played spoiler against the Sabres, beating them, 6-2, in the second game of a four-game trip that continues Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh against the Penguins, before concluding Tuesday in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Rangers, who have been overly reliant on getting most of their offense from the top line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello, this time got nothing from their No. 1 trio and got all of their scoring from their second, third and fourth lines. Boo Nieves, Jesper Fast, Jimmy Vesey, Pavel Buchnevich and Vladislav Namestnikov _ who scored two goals, after not scoring in his previous 23 games _ scored the Rangers goals.
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