From Spoiled to Spoilers: Rangers Blank Sabres on the Road
Opening night in the KeyBank Center for the Buffalo Sabres, and they looked to start the season undefeated. New York, however, looked to bounce back after their opening night was significantly spoiled. There's no doubt Buffalo fans have had it rougher than any NHL fanbase, but one should never question their loyalty, no matter what happened tonight. As New York got their opening night spoiled, Buffalo suffered the same with a 4-0 shutout loss to the New York Rangers. As awful as the score may look, it was anyone's game for as much as 55 minutes.
The puck dropped, and the Rangers didn't hesitate when they were close to the net. Fans questioned where this shooting mentality was on opening night; maybe then they would've had a better chance. The Blueshirts put Buffalo on its heels early, but their goaltender, Alex Lyon, was sharp to start. An early power play was also a good sign for these Rangers, as the shots just kept coming. If there's another power play like last season, most fans may have given up hope.
As New York kept generating chances, their first goal of the season may not have been the cleanest, but they were up 1-0 nonetheless. From a shot by Artemi Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere stayed in front of the net and, with some nice hands, tucked it in for the first Rangers goal of the season. Another common theme of last season was taking their foot off the gas pedal when striking first; it seemed that theme continued. Buffalo got their chances and found their groove, but Igor Shesterkin kept them in front.
Buffalo may have needed a few minutes to find their groove, but it absolutely found it going into the second period. From being outshot 16-11 in the first, Buffalo cornered New York in their own zone and outshot them 14-5. As dominant as they were through the second, complete with three power plays that period, Igor Shesterkin just couldn't be beaten. Now leading in shots on goal, New York looked more like it did on opening night. What began with a completely different shooting mentality in the first, turning to the exact opposite, led New York into the third, where they remained up 1-0.
Buffalo fans couldn't seem to take any more through the third period, as the boos began to rain as Buffalo failed to execute on the power play once again. Like opening night for New York, the score remained close until the final minutes. A good keep-in by Will Borgen gave defenseman Carson Soucy all kinds of room as he snapped a wrister past Alex Lyon and made it 2-0 New York. A massive goal in such a slow game, but Buffalo didn't back off. Soon, New York made it 3-0 as the captain, J.T. Miller, tipped a shot by Braden Schneider past Lyon. The net emptied, Adam Fox got it right off the face off and launched it in to make it 4-0.
From getting shut out on opening night to securing a shutout just two days later. Though Igor did his part, it shouldn't distract fans from seeing tonight's mistakes, especially against a Buffalo team missing some players. The first few minutes felt like a completely different team compared to opening night. That kind of shooting mentality is what this New York team needs back. New York moves on to Pittsburgh to face Mike Sullivan's former team yet again, only this time the Blueshirts look to retaliate from opening night and move their season in the right direction.
