The Buffalo Sabres go winless yet again, as they traveled to Madison Square Garden on Monday to take on the New York Rangers. The home side emerged victorious by a final score of 5-3, as the winless streak for the blue and gold hit an ugly 14 in a row.
Come Tuesday, March 23, Buffalo will have officially gone a calendar month without a win (Feb. 23 against the New Jersey Devils).
Just days removed from trading Jonas Johansson to the Colorado Avalanche, the Sabres' goaltending depth was tested nice and early on Monday evening. Carter Hutton was barreled into by Rangers forward Julien Gauthier just 2:53 into the contest.
Hutton had to be helped off the ice and escorted to the training room, leaving the duties to 31-year-old journeyman Dustin Tokarski. To say it has been awhile since Tokarski took the ice in an NHL game would be an understatement.
After a scoreless opening 20 minutes, the Sabres got on the scoreboard first early in the second period. Rasmus Asplund beat Rangers goalie Keith Kinkaid for the forward's second goal of season.
A little over three minutes later, the Rangers found the equalizer. Young forward Kappo Kakko snuck a puck past Tokarski after Kakko won a net-front battle with Jacob Bryson.
Later in the middle frame, the Sabres found themselves in penalty trouble. With Rasmus Dahlin and Bryson in the box, Rangers forward Chris Kreider netted a 5-on-3 power play goal to give New York its first lead of the night, 2-1.
The Rangers potted their third goal of the second period with just 1:42 left in the stanza, as defenseman Adam Fox jumped on a loose puck and deposited it into the Sabres net behind a flummoxed Tokarski.
Buffalo cut its deficit in half just 69 seconds into the third period of play when Dylan Cozens beat Kinkaid far-side with a nice shot for the rookie's fourth goal of the campaign.
3:13 later, the Sabres climbed all the way back to tie the game. Brandon Montour sent Jeff Skinner on a breakaway with a stretch pass through the neutral zone and Skinner cashed in with his third goal of the year, evening the score at 3-3.
The score did not stay tied for long, though, as the Rangers' power play did more damage moments later. With Casey Mittelstadt in the box for high-sticking, Kreider struck again on the man advantage with his 16th goal of the season and second power play tally of the night.
Kreider's second goal proved to be the game-winner, as the Rangers added an empty-netter from Kakko in the waning seconds to win 5-3.
The Sabres' winless streak reached an abysmal 14 games, as their overall record fell to 6-20-4.
----------
GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
NYR: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 3:52 - Rasmus Asplund (2) (Riley Sheahan, Victor Olofsson)
NYR: 7:13 - Kappo Kakko (3) (Artemi Panarin); 10:39 - Chris Kreider (15) PPG (Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox); 18:18 - Adam Fox (3) (Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich)
Third Period:
BUF: 1:09 - Dylan Cozens (4) (Sam Reinhart); 4:22 - Jeff Skinner (3) (Brandon Montour)
NYR: 5:47 - Chris Kreider (16) PPG (Ryan Strome, Adam Fox); 19:02 - Kappo Kakko (4) ENG (Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome)
----------
Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
NYR: 18:26 - Jacob Trouba (Hooking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 8:42 - Rasmus Dahlin (Interference - 2 min.); 8:42 - Tage Thompson (Unsportsmanlike conduct - 2 min.); 10:23 - Jacob Bryson (Slashing - 2 min.)
NYR: 8:42 - Brendan Lemieux (Unsportsmanlike conduct - 2 min.); 11:07 - Pavel Buchnevich (Hooking - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 4:57 - Casey Mittelstadt (High-sticking - 2 min.)
NYR: NONE
----------
----------
Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Adam Fox - NYR
2.) Chris Kreider - NYR
3.) Artemi Panarin - NYR
----------
What's Next:
The Sabres will continue their four-game road trip on Wednesday night with a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
Faceoff in Pittsburgh is set for 8 p.m. ET with the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show starting at 7 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol. With the game being televised on NBCSN, the only place to hear the call with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray is on the radio home of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.