Brassy: Derick Brassard celebrates his power play goal with teammates at the bench.
AP Photo by Frank Franklin II/Getty Images

This one was over fast. In a rare display of power, the Rangers scored three power play goals in a 2:32 span to bury the Sabres 6-1 at MSG. Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider and Rick Nash buried their chances to keep the Rangers hot. They won for the 10th time in 11 games moving back ahead of the Capitals for third.

Using a four-goal first period, they took care of business against an opponent who played for a second consecutive night. The Sabres entered having been shutout by the Panthers at home. Initially, they started out okay testing Henrik Lundqvist, who made some key saves early. He stopped 10 shots in the first.

Buffalo lost their discipline. During a Ranger power play, the puck looked like it hit the netting. Play continued allowing Martin St. Louis to execute a perfect shot pass for a Brassard deflection past surprise Buffalo starter Michal Neuvirth. MSG replays sure seemed to indicate that the puck was out of play. Who knows. On Hockey Night Live, they said it never was out but didn’t bother showing a replay. Odd. After the goal was scored, Sabre coach Ted Nolan fumed and got an unsportsmanlike conduct putting the Rangers back on the power play.

It took 1:07 for them to cash in with Kreider beating Neuvirth for his seventh making it two straight games with a goal. Sent in on a breakaway by J.T. Miller, he deked Neuvirth and finished a sweet backhand after getting hooked from behind by Cody McCormick. Since Kreider scored, that put the Rangers on a third consecutive man-advantage. This time, it took 1:25 for Nash to convert his team-leading 24th from St. Louis and Brassard. It marked the first time they had three power play goals in a period since 2/4/10 vs. Washington.

Adding insult to injury, Boyle fired a laser past Neuvirth at even strength 1:16 later chasing him. I felt bad for him. The Sabres have one of the worst penalty kills which didn’t help. Of course, they’re also bad defensively and have allowed the most goals (136). It didn’t make a whole lot of sense starting him over Jhonas Enroth to begin with. Something E.J. Hradek was puzzled by. Enroth has cooled off after a nice stretch. But he’s clearly the number one guy. In a back-to-back situation with Neuvirth starting the night before, I have no clue what Nolan was thinking. It was a recipe for disaster.

”We were probably out of it before it even started,” Nolan said. ”They get one, then all of a sudden they get another one and another one, and then the game is over.”

To their credit, the Sabres didn’t quit. Even after Carl Hagelin had a shot deflect off a Buffalo player making it 5-0, Drew Stafford responded only 22 seconds later with a nice backhand wraparound catching Lundqvist off his goalpost. On the next shift, they nearly made it 5-2 with only a sprawling Lundqvist preventing a three-goal contest. That would’ve been interesting.

”They played last night, and they want to try to get a good game, and that happens to them. I kind of felt for them a little bit,” Lundqvist noted after crediting the Sabres for not giving up.

The final nail in the coffin was a delayed goal for Jesper Fast confirmed by video replay in Toronto. Given a opportunity by coach Alain Vigneault to play on the third line, Fast made the most of it taking a Kevin Hayes feed and firing a low shot that went off Enroth’s pads and back out quickly. It was hard to tell if he scored. But Fast immediately thought so raising his arms. With play still going, a horn blew the play dead. One of the oddest moments you’ll ever see. It had to be a goal. Sure enough, the puck crossed the goal line giving Fast his third of the season for the final margin of victory.

As part of an odd schedule to start the new calendar year, the Rangers get the next three days off before embarking on a crucial three-game Californian trip in four days with stops in Anaheim 1/7, a Stanley Cup rematch at Los Angeles 1/8 and concluding at San Jose 1/10.

”It’s going to be a great test for us,” Lundqvist said. ”Three really good teams, and obviously some memories out there. We’ll see how it feels walking into that building. I think we’re excited to go.”

Obviously, he’s talking about the Kings. It should be a good litmus test to see where they are. They deserve tons of credit for recovering from a tough start and injuries to be 21-11-4 with 46 points in the standings. Amazingly, they can’t seem to gain any ground on the Islanders, who don’t lose. They’re tied with the Penguins for first with each having 53 points. With the Pens losing to the Canadiens, the Isles are in first due to one less game played. They make that up Sunday evening at Edmonton. The Caps host the Panthers this afternoon.

By continuing to win, the Rangers have kept pace. They finally passed the slumping Leafs, who fell for the fourth time in five. They can’t afford any slip up out West. Following that trip, the Islanders visit MSG followed by a road match at the Bruins.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Dan Boyle, NYR (goal-3rd of season, assist, 7 shot attempts)

2nd Star-Chris Kreider, NYR (PPG-7th of season, 3 SOG, 4 PIM)

1st Star-Derick Brassard, NYR (PPG-10th of season-2nd in 2 games, assist)