Alex Tuch scored twice and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves as the visiting Buffalo Sabres rebounded from one of their worst showings of the season by pulling away for a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday.
Tuch scored twice for the second time this season. He netted Buffalo’s second and third two goals by tallying in the final minute of the second period and late in the third period.
The Sabres’ JJ Peterka scored in the first period and Casey Mittelstadt had a goal and two assists. Kyle Okposo scored for the third straight game, and Owen Power and Victor Olofsson collected two assists apiece to help the Sabres get their first regulation win over the Rangers since Jan. 26, 2021.
New York had gone 11-0-3 in the teams’ past 14 meetings.
Luukkonen helped the Sabres rebound from a horrific defensive showing in a 7-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. He highlighted his third straight win by making a diving stick save on Jimmy Vesey’s attempt into a vacated net to protect a two-goal lead early in the third period.
Mika Zibanejad scored a power-play goal in the third, but the Rangers saw a three-game winning streak end and took their most lopsided loss of the season. New York also lost forward Kaapo Kakko to a lower-body injury late in the second period.
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made several key saves early on to prevent Buffalo from turning the game into a rout and wound up allowing four goals on 38 shots. After the game ended, Shesterkin slammed his stick against the boards as headed to the locker room.
The Sabres produced plenty of scoring chances and went ahead 11:41 thanks to a New York defensive misplay in its own zone.
After the puck went behind the net, misplays by Rangers defensemen Erik Gustafsson and Ryan Lindgren gave the Sabres an opportunity. Power gained possession and moved the puck along the boards to Olofsson, and Peterka redirected a pass over Shesterkin after streaking down the right side.
With 26.4 seconds left in the second period, Tuch beat New York defenseman K’Andre Miller to a loose puck in the high slot and lifted a shot over Shesterkin for a two-goal lead.
After Zibanejad’s one-timer from the left circle made it 2-1 with 11:52 left in the third, Tuch restored the two-goal edge with 4:29 to play. Mittelstadt and Okposo added to the final margin in the last two minutes.
–Field Level Media
