Buchnevich has goal, assist for Rangers in win against Sabres

NEW YORK -- Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist for the New York Rangers in a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Alexis Lafreniere scored his third goal after he had an assist in each of the past two games for New York. The No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft has four points (two goals, two assists) in the past five games after scoring one point, a goal, in his first 15 games.
Chris Kreider scored, Adam Fox had two assists, and Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves for the Rangers (8-9-3), who allowed five shots on goal in the third period protecting the 3-2 lead.
"We didn't look sharp for the most part, but I liked how we just managed to understand what we were dealing with," New York coach David Quinn said. "Going into the third period I thought we just kind of managed the game. Some nights you're not going to have it and you have to find a way to win, and I thought we did a good job tonight."

Sam Reinhart and Tobias Rieder scored, and Carter Hutton made 16 saves for the Sabres (6-11-3).
Buffalo is 0-3-1 in its past four games and 2-8-1 since Jan. 31, but coach Ralph Krueger said he felt it was the Sabres' best effort in terms of compete and battle levels since they had to pause their season for the first two weeks in February to comply with NHL COVID-19 protocols.
"We really neutralized them well," Krueger said. "I thought we skated well. I thought there was a lot of movement. We created some better grit and [offensive]-zone time. Certainly, from execution, habits we need to take with us into the future. Disappointing final result, but the process was encouraging."
Buchnevich gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a breakaway goal off a stretch pass from Mika Zibanejad 28 seconds into the first period.
"Obviously, scoring first shift is a good start," Fox said. "It's always a lot better to play with the lead, so that was big."
Reinhart tied it 27 seconds later, scoring on a one-timer from the left hash marks off a pass from Victor Olofsson to make it 1-1.

New York got the lead back when Lafreniere scored at 2:36 to make it 2-1. Zibanejad forced Brandon Montour into a defensive-zone turnover with a strong forecheck. Buchnevich got the puck, carried it across the slot and waited for an opening. His shot from low in the left circle went in off Lafreniere in front of the net.
"I was thinking if I keep going and the defenseman bites, I can give it to 'Laffy' for an empty-netter, but he followed me and didn't give me a lane for a shot," Buchnevich said. "I just created space and then I had almost an empty net. It hit Laffy and scored, 2-1."
Kreider made it 3-1 at 9:32 of the second period when he beat Hutton on the glove side with a rising far-side wrist shot that went through Montour's legs.
Kreider has scored six goals in the past five games after scoring four in the first 15.
"I don't think he's overthinking it as much as he was early on," Quinn said. "I think he took a lot of responsibility from a leadership standpoint early in the year and it might have weighed him down a bit. I certainly like the way he's playing now."
Rieder's wrist shot from the right point got through traffic to make it 3-2 at 16:21.
The Rangers limited Buffalo's opportunities in the final 23:39. They didn't allow the Sabres another shot on goal in the second period after Rieder scored, and gave up five in the third, mustering three of their own.
"We've just got to find a way to put the puck in the net, that's it," Buffalo forward Kyle Okposo said. "That's what it comes down to. This is a results-based business, and I understand that playing good gets you nowhere in this industry if the results aren't there."
NOTES: The goals from Buchnevich and Reinhart were the first time each team scored in the first minute of a regular-season game since the Los Angeles Kings (16 seconds) and Edmonton Oilers (38 seconds) on March 26, 2016. … Buffalo's first goal ended a drought of 130:25 dating to the third period of a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 25. The Sabres were shut out in consecutive 3-0 losses to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday and Sunday. … Rangers center Filip Chytil had one shot on goal and two takeaways in 16:08 of ice time in his first game since Jan. 24. Chytil missed 14 games with an upper-body injury. … Fox has five assists in the past four games. … Sabres rookie forward Dylan Cozens was assessed a five-minute major for fighting Ryan Lindgren at 7:11 of the third period. It was his first NHL penalty in his 15th game.