Martin St. Louis snaps a shot that Buffalo netminder Matt Hackett stops.
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

The final home game of the regular season was a real snooze fest. Despite playing down to the lowly Sabres, the Rangers still came away with two points to earn home ice in the first round. Rick Nash’s game winner with 1:42 left in regulation made them 2-1 winners over Buffalo. It was his team-leading ninth deciding marker. He also leads them with 26.

That was enough to earn second place in the Metropolitan Division. Combined with a Flyers loss in Tampa, the Rangers will host next week’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. It’s expected to start next Thursday at MSG. The Knicks play the night before. So, figure Games 1 and 2 to be Thursday 4/17 and Saturday 4/19. With Philadelphia losing, it’s unclear who their opponent will be. The Flyers still are third over the Blue Jackets despite both having 91 points. By virtue of one more regulation/overtime win (38), Philly has the first tiebreaker.

The Rangers will worry about that when they get there. For now, they’ll take solace in doing enough to beat the NHL’s worst team. No doubt it was an ugly victory. But sometimes, that happens at this juncture. They don’t have to give the points back. Even if at times, the Garden was dead silent. With the exception of an nice Aussie couple who sat next to us in the last row of 419 and a crazy Toronto fan sporting a signed Tragically Hip Leaf jersey, there wasn’t much happening.

Despite getting the first three power plays (really four following the lone Buffalo tally), the Rangers did nothing to fool Matt Hackett. If not for taking a dangerous high shot to the collarbone late in the second period, he didn’t have to make any big saves. Not to discredit him. The Rangers offense was vanilla in a sleepless first that had more excitement getting one of two cups of Guinness.

The Sabres struck first with Drew Stafford getting his 16th from Mike Weber and Tyler Ennis nearly halfway through. I didn’t see it. Just the reaction told the story. I was busy joking with a few fans upstairs on the catwalk. After failing on their fourth man-advantage, I was calling for Ryan Haggerty. With everything wrapped up, why not play him in Montreal? There’s no reason not to. Cam Talbot should also start. Give Henrik Lundqvist the final night off. He deserves it. Even with the team playing a more entertaining style under Alain Vigneault, they still lean on him heavily. He made 23 saves.

With under a minute left in the second, I tweeted thank God. Sometimes, when you do that the team responds. Precisely what happened. Moments later, Mats Zuccarello perfectly set up Benoit Pouliot for his 15th coming with 30.4 seconds remaining. Derick Brassard started it picking up a secondary helper. That trio is the Rangers best. That’s Glen Sather’s first job this summer. Get them re-signed. They’re always making big plays and Zuccarello is usually in the middle of it. Our leading scorer notched his 40th assist. An unbelievable number considering the low expectations. I always believed in him. He’s their best forward. The cleaner version of Theo Fleury has more balls than anyone.

With the game tied, somehow the Rangers were outplayed by the Sabres in the third. They outshot us 11-3. Of course, Lundqvist shut them down. How they didn’t press the attack more I have no idea. Like I said, they played down to the competition. Eventually, our superior skill prevailed late. With under two minutes left, Derek Stepan came in three on two feeding to Martin St. Louis, who quickly dished across for a sweet Nash finish. Game. Set. Match.

The Flyers fell to the Lightning 4-2. Their final two games are at Pittsburgh and home for Carolina this weekend. The Blue Jackets conclude at Tampa and Florida Friday and Saturday. They can put the pressure on Philly with a win tomorrow.

As for the Rangers, they’ll take it. It’s all about next week and beyond. Ryan McDonaugh is needed. I like what I’ve seen from Jesper Fast. He finishes checks recording a game high five hits. And he also is smart defensively and uses his speed well to get open. It would be nice to see him get rewarded. Especially with what’s coming up.