Sabres deal Blueshirts a loss in homestand's finale

Friday, 03.23.2012 / 9:32 PM

2011-12 Game No. 74; Home Game No. 38

Rangers' Record: 46-21-7

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GAME RECAP

Associated Press

Travis Turnbull scored his first NHL goal, and the Buffalo Sabres earned another big win in their playoff quest by beating the Rangers 4-1 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Drew Stafford had goals in the second and third periods, Tyler Ennis added one in the third, and Ryan Miller made 26 saves for Buffalo, which is 12-2-4 in its last 18 games.

The Rangers still lead Pittsburgh by one point for No. 1 in the Eastern Conference. They went 4-3 on their seven-game homestand and missed their chance to complete a four-game season sweep of Buffalo. The Rangers had won the first three meetings this season -- two after regulation -- but Buffalo avoided a sweep on Friday.

"They had our number most of the year," said Miller.

The Rangers will play their next three on the road, starting Saturday at Toronto.

Brian Boyle scored at 9:32 of the second for the Rangers, tying the game 1-1 at the time. Blueshirts goaltender Henrik Lundqvist finished with 22 saves.

The Sabres took advantage of the Blueshirts' aggressiveness as it tried to rally, and caught the Rangers with odd-man rushes that produced a pair of goals within 2:09 that made a 2-1 game 4-1.

• COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME

STAT OF THE GAME
The Rangers have a combined record of 16-4-5 in back-to-back games, including an 8-2-3 (3-1-0 at home, 5-1-3 on the road) record in the first game of the set.

THREE STARS

(selected by newyorkrangers.com)

1. Boyle

2. Gaborik

3. McDonagh

THE BIGGER PICTURE
Playing games this late in the season that don't affect their trip to the playoffs is a new experience for many of the current players, who were on Buffalo's side of the equation over the past few years, Now they are learning what it means to have a playoff edge.

RANGERS LEADERS

Icetime -- Dubinsky (24:07)

Shots -- Gaborik, Girardi (4)

Hits -- Callahan (9)

Blocks -- Girardi, Callahan (3)

Takeaways -- Gaborik (3)

Faceoffs -- Boyle (16)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP VS. BUFFALO
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Carl Hagelin	Brad Richards	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Derek Stepan	Ryan Callahan
Artem Anisimov	Brian Boyle	Mats Zuccarello
Mike Rupp	John Mitchell	Brandon Prust

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Michael Del Zotto
Tim Erixon	Stu Bickel
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, McDonagh, Girardi, Dubinsky, Stepan, Callahan.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Ryan Callahan	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Artem Anisimov	Brian Boyle	Brandon Dubinsky

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Michael Del Zotto	Brad Richards
Dan Girardi	Tim Erixon

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Brandon Dubinsky	Artem Anisimov
Ryan Callahan	Derek Stepan

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Michael Del Zotto
Marc Staal	Stu Bickel

26	SHOTS	27
23	FACEOFFS	21
22	HITS	27
4	PIM	2
0/1	PP	0/2
1	GIVEAWAYS	5
4	TAKEAWAYS	7
15	BLOCKED SHOTS	17