National Hockey League
NY Rangers 4, Buffalo 3
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 18, 2018
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Referees: Dave Jackson, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen: Steve Barton, Jonny Murray
Attendance: 18006
Rick Nash scored a pair of goals and assisted on the winner, as the host New York Rangers edged the visiting Buffalo Sabres 4-3 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

Nash now has four goals in his last two games after going 12 contests without scoring.

He set up Pavel Buchnevich's goal with 3:58 left in the game. The goal came only 63 seconds after the Sabres' Rasmus Ristolainen had created a 3-3 tie.

J.T. Miller also scored for the Rangers, who have won two straight games for the first time in almost a month.

Kyle Okposo and Justin Falk also tallied for the Sabres, who suffered their sixth loss in the past seven games. The Sabres have only three wins in their past 14 outings.

Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 of 37 shots for the victory, while Buffalo counterpart Robin Lehner took the loss while stopping 30-of-34. The Sabres scored on two of four power plays and blanked the Rangers on their two man-advantage opportunities.

Nash opened the scoring for the Rangers on a breakaway just 1:24 into the game.

Okposo created a 1-1 tie on a power play at 18:41 of the first period as he put in a pass from Sam Reinhart. Jack Eichel's pass started the scoring play; with the assist, he extended his points streak to four games. While the goal was being scored, New York's Brendan Smith was off for tripping Reinhart.

Miller gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 8:26 of the second period as he took a pass from David Desharnais, drove to the net and beat Lehner with a quick shot. But Falk pulled the Sabres even just under nine minutes later, fooling Lundqvist with a long wrist shot.

Nash's second goal of the game gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead at 6:49 of the third period. With Lehner caught out of position, he put in Nick Holden's rebound off the end boards.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Buffalo   NY Rangers
Kyle Okposo 2 Points Rick Nash 3
Kyle Okposo 1 Goals Rick Nash 2
Jack Eichel 2 Assists Rick Nash 1
Kyle Okposo 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Robin Lehner .882 Save Percentage Henrik Lundqvist .919
Robin Lehner 30 Saves Henrik Lundqvist 34
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Buffalo 37 3 2-4 2-2 8 34
NY Rangers 34 4 0-2 2-4 12 30
Upcoming Games
  • NY Rangers will play their next game on the road against Colorado. The Rangers have a W/L % of .522 after a win and .522 after a loss.
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Sabres have a W/L % of .091 after a win and .294 after a loss.