Even having scored three goals or less in each of their last four games, the Rangers enter the contest leading the NHL with 3.67 goals per game. They feature a fast-paced, balanced attack with 14 players - including three defensemen - having already reached double-digit point totals.
"They're second best in the League in offense from the defensive zone," Bylsma said. "You can attribute that to their forwards, their speed, their putting pucks out in play for their forwards to skate under … That's where they're a dangerous team and frankly that's where we've been not good from defending and that's something we're going to have to do tonight."
Once the Rangers move the puck into the offensive zone, they utilize their defensemen joining the rush down low. Sabres defenseman Jake McCabe will once again play on the top pair alongside Rasmus Ristolainen, but he said that communication between all five players on the ice will be vital in stopping the four-man rush.
"They have four guys in the rush at all times," McCabe said. "You look at their clips, their defensemen will be down in the offensive zone. They'll come down, they'll hang around the net and they'll stay down there so we need to have our heads on a swivel and talk things out. When D are so active you need to communicate with your winger or your centerman of whatever it may be. The easiest way to defend is to have a good offense and play in their offensive zone, wear them down."
If the Sabres are able to defend against the Rangers' rushing attack, it can even be advantageous in allowing them to break the puck out quickly and generate odd-man rushes of their own.
"Any time there's an odd-man rush coming at you that means that we have more guys on top of them if we're able to create a turnover and go the other way," Fedun said. "Hopefully we can take care of the puck in situations like that and hopefully capitalize off of it a little bit."
