Vanek And Sabres Beat Rangers
Oct 16, 2008 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres handed the New York Rangers their first loss of the year, winning 3-1 at MSG. Scott Gomez got the blueshirts on the board first with a deflected goal in the first period, but the Rangers couldn’t generate many more chances in the first two periods.
Ales Kotalik had the first Sabre goal early in the second period, when Lundqvist stopped a shot but Al found the puck and slid it in under the pads. It marked the first goal given up on the power play by New York this season. Vanek would give the Sabres the lead for good on another power play midway through the period, on the rebound of a Derek Roy shot. Paul Mara got hit by Patrick Kaleta, and immediately dropped his gloves and started swinging. Mara was injured by a The Kaleta! hit last year, which required facial surgery. Mara was given a game misconduct and a 5 minute major for fighting.
Seconds into the third period, Craig Rivet took a 4 minute double-minor for high-sticking, giving the Rangers a chance on a long power play of their own to tie it up. However, Vanek came through again, with he and Paille streaking into the Rangers zone. Key Lime drove hard to the net, pulling Lundqvist out of position, setting up yet another short-handed goal for Vanek with a nice pass across. The Rangers continued to pepper Miller with shots in the third, but he was up to the task.
Beyond Vanek and Paille, I would like to give some recognition to Teppo Numminen. He was top 5 in ice time, had his third assist and has been overall very steady. So great to see him out there.
Buffalo plays next at home on Friday night, against the Vancouver Canucks at 7:30pm EDT. There are still some seats available to so get in now if you want to see the Sedin twins, Steve Bernier and Roberto Luongo.
Tags: buffalo, gomez, Hockey, kaleta, kotalik, lundqvist, mara, new york, NHL, numminen, paille, rangers, rivet, roy, Ryan Miller, sabres, the kaleta, Thomas Vanek
Gameday - Sabres at Rangers
Oct 15, 2008 NHL
It’s a battle of unbeaten teams as the Buffalo Sabres hop over to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers tonight at 7pm. Buffalo is down another center, as Jochen Hecht had surgery on a broken finger and is out approximately 2 weeks. Clarke MacArthur moves up to center Pominville and Paille, while Mair will have Kotalik and Afinogenov. Matt Ellis will get his first start as the fourth line center.
The Rangers have jumped out to a hot start, 5-0-0 and needing one win to have their best start ever. Both teams are winning in part due to excellent penalty kill performance (Buffalo is 12 for 12 on the kill, New York 21 for 21). We should see Ryan Miller back in the net, and most likely Lundqvist at the other end. This could be a tough one.
Tags: buffalo, hecht, Hockey, injury, kotalik, lundqvist, macarthur, mair, Maxim Afinogenov, new york, NHL, paille, pominville, rangers, sabres
Gameday - Sabres at Rangers
Jan 16, 2008 NHL
Sweet, it’s not the Devils or Senators! The Sabres are in New York tonight to face Jagr, Drury and the Rangers. It’s the first meeting against the former Sabres Captain. Drury had this to say about the situation:
It’s almost February now. I’ve moved on. Danny [Briere] has moved on. The Sabres have moved on. And I think that’s how it should be. There’s not much of a story there anymore and no reason for me to bring up the past.
His Rangers are struggling almost as much as the Sabres right now, with Lundqvist looking beatable, and Shanny and Avery potentially out. For Buffalo, Connolly and Afinogenov are definitely still out (Spacek too I believe), Roy could be back but I haven’t heard yet. It’s a 7pm start at MSG.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, drury, Hockey, jagr, lundqvist, Maxim Afinogenov, new york, NHL, rangers, roy connolly, sabres, Sean Avery, shanahan, Spacek
