New York (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres opened the 2025-26 season at home, losing to the New York Rangers, 4-0. That was a one-goal game for most of it, and was a very boring game with several low quality scoring chances and plenty of neutral zone play.
Now the Sabres are in New York on Thursday to play the Rangers with 11 wins in 12 games.
All signs point to Colten Ellis being in goal for the Sabres against the Rangers. He hasn’t played since suffering a concussion back on Dec. 9 in Edmonton against the Oilers.
Bo Byram has been on an offensive surge with three goals and six assists for nine points in his last seven games.
Josh Doan has goals in three-consecutive games for Buffalo.
The Sabres have a points percentage of .585, which has them in the Eastern Conference's second Wild Card position. In their last eight road games, Buffalo is 7-1-0.
Buffalo is currently 11th overall, tied with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Rangers have been horrible at home this season, going 5-10-4. Recently, they’ve only won two of their last seven at Madison Square Garden.
Overall, the Rangers have only won one of their last five contests.
That leaves New York second-to-last in the Eastern Conference with a points percentage of .523. The Rangers 23rd overall in the NHL.
New York is 29th in the NHL in goal scoring. Their leading scorer is Artemi Panarin, who has 16 goals and 30 assists for 46 points.
Panarin has points in four-straight games, scoring two goals and six assists for eight points. In his last eight games, he has five goals and seven assists for 12 points.
Mika Zibanejad has a three-game point streak, scoring three goals and five assists for eight points.
We already know the Rangers are without goalie Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox due to injury.
Meanwhile, captain J.T. Miller practiced fully on Wednesday after missing seven games due to injury, and winger Alexis Lafreniere missed practice due to illness.
This season, Jonathan Quick is 3-6-2 with a 2.23 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage.
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Lindy Ruff, Ellis and Jordan Greenway.
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