The New York Rangers won on the road over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night behind a three-point game for forward Mats Zuccarello. The Rangers held on for the 4-2 win after being up 3-0, with Zuccarello recording three points in the victory.
The Rangers have been playing without Henrik Lundqvist and Rick Nash in the lineup, but the team keeps on finding ways to win. Zuccarello led the way with a goal and two assists for the Rangers, while Antti Raanta started in goal and had an impressive game in place of Lundqvist. Raanta had 34 saves for the Rangers, starting his third straight game while Lundqvist is recovering from a neck injury.
New York continues to play well despite not having Nash and Lundqvist in the lineup, as the team has not lost two games in a row since December. Zuccarello helped the Rangers get out to a 3-0 lead, but the Sabres came back with two goals in the second period. JT Miller added an empty net goal toward the end of the game to extend the lead to 4-2, and that was enough for the Rangers.
"We got good goaltending, we got saves at the right time and, at the end, our penalty killing was able to kill off two of their power plays so if we want to stress the positives I think that was pretty positive," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.
Zuccarello set up the first goal of the game with a pass for Derick Brassard, and he gave the team a 2-0 lead with his own score. Zuccarello took a pass from Derek Stepan and was able to put the puck in the net past Sabres goalie Robin Lehner three minutes after setting up the opening score of the game. He recorded his third point and second assist of the game on Miller's empty net goal.
"It was a panic shot," Zuccarello said. "I took it and it went in; I'll take it."
While the Rangers have played well without Lundqvist and Nash healthy, the team is ready for them to return. Vigneault said that both players could get back into the lineup this weekend for the team. Nash has been out since January while dealing with a bone bruise, but he has been making progress in his recovery. He has been able to practice with the team and said that he is "optimistic" that he can play within the next week.
The Rangers came into the game after giving up six goals in a loss to the New York Islanders, but they were able to bounce back for the victory against Buffalo. The team is now 39-22-6, good for second place in the Metropolitan Division.