Sabres find their game after slow start, take over 1st in Atlantic

NEW YORK – The Buffalo Sabres stewed over an uncharacteristic first 40 minutes inside Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, not focused on the Atlantic Division or the standings but simply on what they needed to do to play their game.

They proved once again that they can find it, even on an off night. Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker scored net-front goals 1:23 apart during the third period to turn a one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead, and the Sabres went on to defeat the New York Rangers, 5-3.

The Sabres – trailing 3-2 after 40 minutes as the result of frequent turnovers and a poor night on special teams – held the Rangers to just one shot during the third period.

“We decided to play our game,” Zucker said. “We got pucks behind their D, we kept it simple through our D-zone and neutral zone. We got pucks out (of the defensive zone) and then we got them in behind their D and we played offense.”

The win was important given the unique position the Sabres found themselves in to begin the day: part of a three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Division with Tampa Bay and Montreal, with all three teams at 102 points through 78 games.

The Sabres now sit alone in first with 104 points, with the Canadiens and Lightning set to play a head-to-head matchup Thursday.

Buffalo needs a top-two finish to secure home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

While every person in the Sabres locker room is well aware of what they’re playing for, they’ve kept their one-game-at-a-time focus as the regular season winds down. More than anything, they’re focused on fine-tuning their game to hit the playoffs rolling on all cylinders. If they do that, the chips will fall in their favor.

“The fans have been incredible, so any time you can play more games on home ice, the better,” Zucker said regarding potential home-ice advantage. “But for us, our focus has been on getting to our game and feeling really comfortable with what we’re doing and having as much confidence as possible going into Game 1.”

Following a brief two-game skid, the Sabres had been able to rediscover their tenacious, smothering, straight-line identity in their last contest, a crucial win over the Lightning.

In the first period against the Rangers – who’d won five of their last six games, invigorated by a youth injection into their lineup – Zucker thought they looked about as far from their identity as possible.

“We were messing around with pucks a little bit too much in our zone,” he said. “We were throwing pucks right through the middle of our slot coming out of the D-zone. Very uncharacteristic of us, and they made us pay for it.”

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s goaltending – he made multiple grade-A stops off turnovers – allowed the Sabres to pull ahead 2-0 in spite of the sloppy start. The Rangers finally scored a power-play goal during the final minute of the first period, then pulled ahead with two goals during the second.

“We managed the puck poorly in the first two periods,” coach Lindy Ruff said.

Buffalo simplified coming out of the second intermission and quickly began to generate sustained offensive-zone time. Tuch scored the tying goal on a deflection of a Peyton Krebs shot to end one such shift. Zucker’s winning goal was scored off a rebound in front.

“I thought in the third period we executed almost every zone and we got rewarded for getting people to the net,” Ruff said. “… Those are the type of goals, you’re gonna win a game in the playoffs.”

Zach Benson iced the game with an empty-net goal (thanks to Josh Doan, who unselfishly passed to leave Benson with the wide-open net).

The end result: two big points in the standings, and another step in the right direction heading toward the playoffs.

“I think it was good to show that we can not have our best and still find a way to win,” Zucker said.

Here’s more from the win.

McLeod shoots his shot

McLeod buried a far-side on an odd-man rush for his first goal since March 5. He’d only taken four shots in his last 11 games, instead opting to pass on rush opportunities, and Ruff had been imploring him to shoot more often.

“I was ecstatic, actually,” Ruff said. “He came back to the bench and he looked right at me, because he knows.”

McLeod added an assist on Zucker’s goal in the third period and now has three points in the last two games.

Zucker’s net-front prowess

Zucker’s poise and hand-eye coordination have made him one of the NHL’s most consistent net-front scorers since he’s been in a Sabres uniform.

Those qualities showed up in a big way on his winning goal. Zucker got the puck off a rebound, kept his feet directly outside the blue paint, and pulled it to the far-side post as goaltender Igor Shesterkin lunged forward.

With no defender near him, Zucker was able to slide the puck behind Shesterkin’s left skate.

“Honestly, I’m just trying to get it to the far side,” Zucker said. “Make him move, see if something opens up. At that point, I realized I had a little bit more time. They lost coverage, so I was lucky enough to be able to get around his pad and stuff it in.”

Lineup changes

Ruff said he intends to rotate players into the lineup in these final regular season games. On Wednesday, that meant Tanner Pearson entering at forward for Jordan Greenway (who will be back in the lineup Thursday) along with Michael Kesselring and Conor Timmins joining on defense in place of Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn.

It was Kesselring’s first game since March 10. He skated 10:37 with three shots and a plus-1 rating.

“As the game went on, I felt he got more comfortable,” Ruff said. “We know we have nine D. It’s not an ideal situation for our guys who are playing in that five-six category. But I really wanted to see everybody play. We’ve got a few games left here, and we’ll make decisions on who’s going to get that opportunity.”

Postgame sound

Up next

The Sabres return home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Tickets are still available.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.