Carter Hutton made a couple of key saves early for the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden. Those saves would be the only saves he'd make all night.
New York Rangers forward Julien Gauthier barreled in on a rush chance against Hutton and ran in to him at full force. Hutton left the ice in pain, leaving the net to Sabres backup Dustin Tokarski, who hadn't seen NHL action since the 2016-17 season.
Buffalo went into the third period down two goals and showed some fight to bring the score back level, but they weren't able to hang on and suffered their 14th-consecutive loss.
Let's check out three observations from Monday night's game:
1.) Tokarski relieves Hutton early
It was Oct. 28, 2016 when Tokarski last faced an NHL shot while with the Anaheim Ducks. It's been a long road back for the 31-year-old, and he faced his biggest test in nearly four-and-a-half years.
Tokarski made a number of big saves in the first period, shaking off any rust he may have had from not playing in many games. He'd played in two games for the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League earlier this season.
In the second period, things began to unravel, like usual, for Buffalo, but not at the fault of Tokarski. After Rasmus Asplund scored his second goal of the season early in the period, the Sabres allowed three goals from the middle of the period to the end.
The Sabres were able to get themselves back in the game in the third, but suffered a late goal-against on a Rangers power play coming at the hands of Casey Mittelstadt's high-sticking penalty. From there, Buffalo struggled to get shots on Rangers goaltender Keith Kinkaid.
Hutton's injury did not seem like he'd be back any time soon, so Buffalo is going to have to figure out what they'll be doing moving forward in net. With Linus Ullmark still not practicing yet, the Sabres have just three goalies signed to NHL contracts on their roster - Tokarski, Michael Houser, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
2.) Sabres find some goals, but struggled to generate shots and chances
The Sabres were the team that struck first in this match-up, but it was the Rangers who controlled the game pretty much from the outset.
The Rangers tested Tokarksi early after coming in for Hutton, and had a 10-3 shots advantage over Buffalo at 5-on-5 after the first period.
After Buffalo's goal in the second, the Rangers took complete control. Buffalo had a bit of a push prior to their goal, but the Rangers pounced quickly to score three quick ones on the Sabres.
The Sabres made things a bit easier on themselves at the start of the third period. Sabres forwards Dylan Cozens and Jeff Skinner scored on the Sabres' first two shots of the period, and through the first 12 or so minutes, those were the only two shots Buffalo took in the period.
After Mittelstadt's high-sticking penalty early in the third period, Rangers forward Chris Kreider took advantage of the opportunity and put New York ahead for good.
Ultimately, the Sabres could not keep up with the Rangers, losing the 5-on-5 shot attempt battle, 52-36, according to Natural Stat Trick. Buffalo will need to play a better team game if they ever hope to get out of this 14-game winless slide.
3.) Power play still goalless through 13 games
The Sabres' power play is missing. No one can find it.
This aspect of the Sabres' game has completely disappeared ever since Jack Eichel was originally hurt against the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 25.
Buffalo got another two chances with the man advantage on Monday night. They took only two shots on the power play, neither of which went in the net.
The Sabres now sit in 11th place in the NHL with a 25.0% conversion rate. Back nearly a month ago, that unit was first place. Over the last 13 games, Buffalo is 0-for-21 on their power play chances.
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After their 14th-straight winless effort, Buffalo will be off from game action on Tuesday before getting back at it on Wednesday night as they travel to PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.
Opening faceoff is scheduled to take place at 8 p.m. ET, so make sure you adjust accordingly. Brian Koziol will lead you in at 7 p.m. EST with the Paul William Beltz Pregame Show. With the game being televised on NBCSN, the only place to hear the call with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray is the radio flagship station of the Sabres - WGR Sports Radio 550.
