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Game 46: NYR 4 BUF 3, Nash-ty times two again, Buch nets game-winner

January 19, 2018, 8:51 AM ET [331 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Rangers picked up their second straight win with a 4-3 victory over the Sabres. New York led three times by one goal but allowed Buffalo to tie the game, with each of the three goals allowed coming with the final 5:01 of each period. But the newly constituted first line came through again to give the Blueshirts a lead they didn’t relinquish. Retaining that lead fell to Henrik Lundqvist, who made a brilliant save on Rasmus Ristolainen with 3.8 seconds remaining while the Rangers defended a 6-on-4 change against due to Mats Zuccarello’s hooking penalty with 38.3 left in the game.

Game recap:


MSG Post-game recap:


The absence of Kevin Hayes, who missed his third straight game yesterday, caused a shifting of the lines. One positive result of that injury is the creation of the Rick Nash-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich line. Nash, who now has 13 goals on the season and 429 in his career, tallied two goals against Philadelphia, the first goal assist by Buchnevich. Against Buffalo, that line registered six points (three goals, three assists), and all three players recorded a point on the game-winning goal (Buchnevich, assisted by Zibanejad and Nash). Buch has gone from first line to fourth line to scratch to fourth line and back to the top line. Hopefully he now stays there for a bit.

On the first goal scored in each game, good defense led to offense. We saw it on Buch’s pass to Nash against the Flyers. Last night, the same happened. On this pass, Buch put the puck into an open spot on the ice and allowed Nash to go get it. Nash blew past the defender, and like Tuesday night, he shot the puck just before the hashmarks, beating Robin Lehner. His second goal occurred before he was in the right spot at the side of the net, taking advantage of a good bounce and getting some puck luck. That puck luck is warranted, as Nash has 145 shots on goal, 41 more than anyone else, indicating just how engaged he has been. What I loved was his comments after the game.

“You look on the chance sheet every night and you have three or four 'A' chances and the pucks just weren't going in," Nash said. "Then you get a game like [Thursday] where you get two good chances and they both go in. What I've been telling myself is, 'Stick with it, keep getting on the inside and keep helping the team, whether it's PK, defensive game, bringing the energy.' I know I'm supposed to score goals, but if you're not scoring you have to bring something to the table.

"At the end of the day I'm supposed to score goals, so it's nice to chip in that way."


I didn’t think New York played a bad game defensively, but surprisingly were hurt by two power plays goals against. Prior to last night, as per the team notes after Tuesday’s game, the Rangers had not allowed a power play goal in each of the last four games (9-for-9), in 13 of the last 18 games (51-for-56; 91.1%), and in 14 of the last 20 games (55-for-61; 90.2%). The Blueshirts had killed off 91 of their opponents’ last 103 power play opportunities (88.3%). The Rangers had not allowed more than one power play goal in 44 of 45 games this season, including each of the last 43 contests. Surrendering the two PPG against therefore was a huge shock and changed the tenor and tone of the game.

Lundqvist though did have to come up big several times. After only allowing 26 shots Tuesday, the first time in 15 games New York surrendered less than 30 shots, the Blueshirts had 37 shots against. Buffalo’s skill players created chances, using screens high and low to make life hard for Lundqvist and the Rangers. New York has to do a better job of getting out higher on those shooters, rather than sagging back and open up lanes or screener chances. With the win, since Oct. 31, Lundqvist has posted a 19-7-2 record, along with a 2.39 GAA, a .930 SV%, and 1 SO in 30 appearances.

Besides the top line, I thought J.T. Miller was New York’s best forward. Stopping a puck from going over the line and beating Lehner top-shelf, short-side with a wicked wrister earns you that accolade. with Chris Kreider out, someone has to step up and Miller certainly can be that player. Miller’s goal was his 10th of the season, the seventh different Blueshirts to register 10 or more goals through the first 46 games of the 2017-18 season (Grabner, Zibanejad, Nash, Buchnevich, Kreider, Hayes, and Miller).

Now for Buch. We have been pleading AV to just put Buch on the top line and let him run. The tough love he showed Buch was certainly warranted to an extent, as Buch had been floating and wasn’t always fully engaged. The big hope for me is that the confidence that Buch should have received from his play the last two games carries him forward. Give Zib credit for tremendous patience on the goal and for the brilliant dish to the blue paint where Buch was to bang the puck home. What I saw was a solid forecheck by that line and the good defense leading to offensive chances.

Hayes skated Thursday morning and if he comes through practice Friday fine, he could return Saturday. If Hayes can’t go and the view is that he will be out Saturday and maybe Sunday, New York could opt to call up another forward. As I wrote yesterday, Boo Nieves is likely to get the call with Cole Schneider a possibllity.

Marc Staal, out with a hip flexor for the second straight game yesterday, will not practice Friday and therefore won't play either Saturday or Sunday, according to Vigneault. Look for New York to call up a defenseman for the upcoming road trip. Lefty John Gilmour and righties Neal Pionk, Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Sproul all are options. The shooting side doesn’t matter due to Nick Holden’s and Brendan Smith’s ability to play the off-side (right side). Any one of the four could be the option. I would like to see Gilmour or Pionk get a cup of coffee as a reward for their fine season.

Per the AHL transactions page, the Rangers have re-assigned center Lias Andersson from Frolunda to Hartford. This move isn’t a surprise, as Andersson will rehab his shoulder there rather than on Sweden. If he is healed enough in next week or so, Andersson could play for Team Sweden in the Olympics.

The two wins are nice. Argument why it didn’t matter much is that it came against a team New York almost always beats at home and versus a weak squad in the throes of another rough patch. This trip will provide a better sense as to the direction in which to traverse. Colorado has won seven in a row and facing the Cali triumvirate of LA-Ana-SJ is always daunting. Following those four games leading into the All-Star break, the conversations surrounding this team will take on a whole different level and focus.

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