Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal with 2:58 remaining in overtime as the New York Rangers beat the host Buffalo Sabres 2-1 on Saturday night.
The Rangers controlled possession for the entire overtime and gained a power play with 3:48 remaining when Mika Zibanejad drew a hooking penalty on Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
With three minutes left, Adam Fox’s shot was blocked by Zemgus Girgensons, but the loose puck caromed to Panarin in the right faceoff circle. Panarin gained possession and scored his 39th career game-winning goal when his wrist shot sailed over the stick of goalie Pekka Ukko-Luukkonen, who frantically dived back to try and get in position.
Buffalo native Patrick Kane scored his second goal for the Rangers, who improved to 10-0-1 in their past 11 meetings with the Sabres.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin made 26 of his 32 saves in the final two periods and helped the Rangers get to overtime with a diving stop on Dylan Cozens with 37 seconds left.
Jeff Skinner scored for Buffalo, which has lost four games in a row but played significantly better defensively than Thursday’s 10-4 home loss to the Dallas Stars.
Luukkonen made 24 saves for Buffalo, which dropped seven points behind the first-place Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
New York and Buffalo traded goals in a span of more than three minutes midway through the second period.
Tage Thompson beat New York’s Filip Chytil to a loose puck in the left corner and passed to Ilya Lyubushkin. Skinner moved to the lower edge of the left circle and turned the cross-ice pass into a wrist shot that sailed inside the left post with 12:08 remaining for his 29th goal of the season.
Kane tied it when his backhanded centering pass from the left circle banked off Buffalo defenseman Owen Power’s right skate into the net. Buffalo had a goal by Tyson Jost disallowed with 7:48 left due to an offsides call that occurred while the door leading to the Sabres’ bench was open.
–Field Level Media
