The Rangers needed two points in this one. They came away with one against the worst team in the NHL. That won’t cut it. While Linus Ullmark was solid in net for Buffalo, and certainly made some great saves, Buffalo walked all over the Rangers from start to finish, including OT and the shootout. This was not the same game as Thursday, when the Rangers were dominant, but they were similar in that Buffalo got great goaltending.
The Rangers were very passive in this one. They allowed the Sabres to skate through the neutral zone with tremendous speed, thus ceding the blue line and, given the speed, continued offensive pressure.