Buffalo @ New York preview
Madison Square Garden
Last Meeting ( Nov 27, 2023 ) Buffalo 5, NY Rangers 1
The Buffalo Sabres responded to an ugly loss in emphatic fashion. Now, will they look to build off that victory when they visit the New York Rangers on Saturday.
After coming up on the wrong side of a 9-4 drubbing against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the Sabres turned the tables and dumped the Toronto Maple Leafs 9-3 on Thursday. Their play against Toronto showed a return to the style of game that made them one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the NHL last season.
"You can't dwell on mistakes," Sabres captain Kyle Okposo said. "It was awesome to see just us hop over the boards and everybody have a sense of objective and nobody let a goal against affect their play. That's not an easy thing to do, it's not at all, but I think we did a good job of that (Thursday) and it's something to build on."
Finding consistency from game to game has been a struggle for Buffalo this season. Only once have the Sabres won consecutive games and haven't done so since Oct. 29-Nov. 1. They've also only had two three-game point streaks.
Finally getting healthy up front could help rectify that.
Jeff Skinner and Jordan Greenway returned against the Maple Leafs after missing three and nine games, respectively, each with an upper-body injury. Both had an immediate impact; Skinner scored twice and added an assist while Greenway had a goal and played a strong game alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Zach Benson.
Jack Quinn scored his first goal of the season in his second game back in the lineup after missing the first two-plus months while recovering from an offseason Achilles injury. Eased into the lineup in his debut Tuesday, he was reunited with Dylan Cozens and JJ Peterka against Toronto, a trio that was a standout for the Sabres last season.
"Always an upswing when you get good players back in the lineup," Skinner said. "To be honest, I thought that Mittelstadt, Benson, Greener line was probably the best line for the first period and a half and then the rest of us kind of caught up and sort of followed their lead. But yeah, I think it's great to see Quinny back. He's such a great player and that line's so dynamic together. They read off each other well and it's nice to see them back out there together."
The Rangers will be looking to bounce back after a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. New York led 1-0 after two periods before the Oilers scored four goals within the first 10 minutes of the third. The Rangers pulled within one with a pair of late tallies.
The defeat snapped a three-game winning streak.
"I don't think we're looking for small victories of clawing back into games anymore," captain Jacob Trouba said. "We expect to play a better game for a full 60 minutes. I think we've shown ourselves as a group that we can do that. I think that's what we need to come to expect out of each other every night. Another crack at it (Saturday) before the break and hopefully we come with a better game. ... Find a way to get two points and go into the break feeling good."
New York has lost consecutive games only once this season, earlier this month.
Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist against Edmonton, giving him 10 points (six goals, four assists) in a six-game point streak. He has picked at least a point in 14 of his past 15 games, accumulating 10 goals and 10 assists in that stretch.
--Field Level Media