‘As good as any goal scorer’ | Samuelsson’s snipe seals Sabres' win in New York

NEW YORK – Goal of the year? The Buffalo Sabres were saying so as they walked off the ice Thursday at Madison Square Garden, celebrating a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers.

The Rangers, trailing 3-2, had been pressuring all third period for the tying goal. And a double minor on the Sabres upped that pressure considerably with 5:36 remaining.

The suspense of that four-minute penalty kill lasted just 14 seconds. Forward Ryan McLeod intercepted a pass high in the defensive zone, and Mattias Samuelsson broke toward the Rangers end. Especially with a late lead, a defenseman will rarely push for a shorthanded chance.

But Samuelsson, who’s been defying expectations all season, saw a footrace worth winning. He gained possession at the bottom of the left circle and ripped a sharp-angle, short-side dagger past Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick to seal another road victory.

“Definitely was trying to go short side there,” said Samuelsson, who added to career highs with his seventh goal and 22nd point. “I think everyone kind of knows Quick’s style, grew up watching him. It’s more of a down-low goalie, for sure. Just glad that one didn’t go high and wide and wrap around.”

Added forward Josh Doan, recalling his reaction from the bench: “I thought maybe I jumped a little early and it might’ve hit the outside of the net. But when he was celebrating, we figured it was in the back of the cage. I mean, that’s an unbelievable shot – probably the best shot I’ve seen live.”

And coach Lindy Ruff: “It was probably as good as any goal scorer. He might be getting the label as a goal scorer now, if he keeps those up.”

To that point, Buffalo had led thanks largely to goaltender Colten Ellis, who made 30 saves in his first game since a Dec. 9 concussion.

Teammates and coaches have continually praised the rookie for his work ethic in practice, and it paid off Thursday, as he showed no signs of rust from the one-month hiatus. In the first period alone, he calmly handled a couple close-range redirections and got across to stop Will Cuylle’s one-timer on the rush.

“A-plus game, for sure,” Ruff said. “But we know, when we put him in, he’s been ready to play. He gave us a great game. He worked hard to get back and be ready, and I thought he did an excellent job tonight.”

It took another odd-man rush and Mika Zibanejad’s signature shot to finally beat Ellis in the second period. Ellis’ only real blemish was Vincent Trocheck’s five-hole goal 51 seconds into the third period. From that point on, however, he stopped all 13 Rangers shots, including several through scrambles near his crease and during long sequences in his zone.

“After they scored that goal – it’s one I definitely want back – we were still up by one at that point, so you’ve just got to find a way to get through it,” Ellis said. "I mean, that’s part of hockey, that stuff’s gonna happen, and just tried to do whatever I could to not let in any more.”

Ruff wasn’t thrilled with how his team, defensively, handled New York’s third-period push. But Samuelsson, Ellis and others did enough to secure two key standings points. The Sabres (50 points) will go to sleep occupying the second wild-card spot, having won 12 of their last 13 games.

That, the head coach can enjoy.

“For the next five minutes,” he joked.

Here’s more from the win.

Doaner’s heater

Doan opened the scoring just 4:07 into the game on Buffalo’s first shot. Samuelsson had his shot blocked in the slot, but he stuck with the play, drew Quick out of his net and found the open Doan calling for a pass in front.

“When [Samuelsson] has the rock right now, we’ve got to trust him and let him do his thing,” Doan said. “I think that’s one where you’ve just got to let him know you’re behind [the defense], and he makes a really good play.”

That’s four straight games with a goal for the winger, a career-best streak. His 14 goals this season are tied with Alex Tuch, who also scored Tuesday, for second most on the team.

Suddenly, Doan’s recent eight-game drought is a distant memory.

“I went a couple without scoring, and I had to get my way back in front of the net, in front of the goalie,” he said. “And that’s where I’ve found the last couple.”

Power play back on the board

Buffalo, which hadn’t scored a power-play goal in the last seven games, snapped its skid at a pivotal point in the second period. Three minutes after Zibanejad had cut the lead to 2-1, a deflection off Jason Zucker’s back popped into the net and restored the two-goal Sabres lead.

Sometimes, the ugly goals work just fine.

“We started putting pucks at the net, which is what we talked about yesterday and this morning,” Ruff said. “The Thompson play back door, the Doan look we had, we had two or three good looks where we didn’t defer to just staying outside.”

Three months later...

The first half of the Sabres’ season began Oct. 9 in forgettable fashion: a 4-0 loss to these Rangers on home ice.

The second half opened Thursday with a win in Game 42, and things feel a whole lot different now.

“We definitely weren’t happy with the first 30 games or so, being right around .500,” Samuelsson said. “It’s been a fun stretch lately. Great group of guys to do it with, and everyone’s working their bag off in the process.”

“Trusting each other and having fun on the bench, I think that’s been the biggest thing,” added Doan. “There’s a lot of support on the bench no matter what’s going on, and when you have that, it’s easy to build off it and lean on each other.”

Up next

A five-game homestand – the Sabres are 13-5-2 at KeyBank Center, including five straight wins – begins Saturday against the Anaheim Ducks at 7 p.m. MSG’s pregame coverage begins at 6:30.

Get your tickets today.