Fresh off locating the win column last night against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Buffalo Sabres are playing host to the New York Rangers inside KeyBank Center.
For the fourth-straight contest, it was the Sabres grabbing the opening goal of the night against their opposition. Rasmus Asplund slotted back into the lineup in place of the injured Curtis Lazar, and Asplund paid immediate dividends. He poked home a loose puck in the Rangers' crease for his third goal of the season.
The visitors tied the game 6:40 into the second period after a wild sequence. Jeff Skinner made a great defensive play at his own blue line and skated free on a breakaway. The only problem was his stick was knocked out of his hands by Rangers defenseman Libor Hajek. Skinner went in all alone with nothing but his skates and a dream, doing his best to get the puck deep at the least. The Rangers got the puck back shortly thereafter and forward Colin Blackwell scored his ninth goal of the season on Dustin Tokarski.
The Rangers took their first lead of the night with 13:43 to play in regulation, when Filip Chytil was able to jam home a loose puck in the Sabres' crease amidst a goal-mouth scramble. It was the forward's seventh goal of the 2020-21.
It looked like that would be the game-winner for the Rangers, but Tage Thompson had other plans. With 3.6 seconds left in the game, trailing by that one goal, the lanky forward let loose this shot to extend things into overtime.
Despite the last-second heroics from Thompson, it was Mika Zibanejad getting the last laugh on this night. The Rangers forward teamed up with Artemi Panarin, and the duo combined for a perfectly-executed 2-on-1 which culminated with a one-time blast off the stick of Zibanejad with 27.7 seconds left in the extra frame.
The 3-2 overtime loss drops the Sabres to 7-23-6 in 2020-21.
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 2:06 - Rasmus Asplund (3) (Jeff Skinner)
NYR: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
NYR: 6:40 - Colin Blackwell (9) (Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome)
Third Period:
BUF: 19:56 - Tage Thompson (2) (Casey Mittelstadt, Sam Reinhart)
NYR: 13:43 - Filip Chytil (7) (Julien Gauthier, Alexis Lafreniere)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
NYR: 4:32 - Mika Zibanejad (12) (Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox)
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 17:34 - Casey Mittelstadt (Roughing - 2 min.)
NYR: 19:56 - Phillip Di Giuseppe (Slashing - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 14:55 - Colin Miller (Tripping - 2 min.)
NYR: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 7:39 - Rasmus Ristolainen (Holding - 2 min.); 13:55 - Steven Fogarty (Goaltender interference - 2 min.)
NYR: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
NYR: NONE
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Dustin Tokarski - BUF
2.) Colin Blackwell - NYR
3.) Artemi Panarin - NYR
What's Next:
The blue and gold will again host the New York Rangers on Saturday evening, April 3. Puck drop inside KeyBank Center is set for 7 p.m. EST, and the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show with Brian Koziol and Paul Hamilton starts at 6 p.m. EST on the radio home of the Buffalo Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
