Make it two for two for MacKenzie Skapski. In his second career start against Buffalo, the 20-year old rookie goalie posted his first NHL shutout in a Rangers 2-0 win over the Sabres. Skapski stopped all 20 shots for his second victory in three weeks with both coming against the NHL’s worst team.

To Buffalo’s credit, they played hard. The Rangers played down to their competition which forced Skapski into some difficult saves. There were a couple of highlights including a sliding stop and a couple of others on point blank chances including a stone job on a Tyler Ennis breakaway. The Sabres did their part working diligently. They just couldn’t find the back of the net against Skapski, who since allowing a Matt Moulson goal on his first shot faced 14 seconds in on 2/20 has a shutout streak of 118:54.

Even though it’s come at the expense of the 30th ranked team, you have to admire Skapski’s poise and concentration. Despite it being a very dull game, he never lost his focus turning aside seven Buffalo shots in the first, seven in the second and six in the third. For a 2013 sixth round pick, the 20-year old from British Columbia shows a maturity that bodes well. In his first pro season, he has won 12 games with Hartford posting a 2.38 goals-against-average, .914 save percentage and two shutouts.

There really isn’t much to analyze. For two periods, the Rangers struggled to outplay the Sabres. They didn’t register enough shots on Anders Lindback, who was solid finishing with 31 saves. He saw 18 shots the first 40 minutes and stopped everything. There weren’t many close calls with the mere exception of Martin St. Louis misfiring on a Matt Hunwick pass tossing a backhand off the goalpost with an open side.

To be brutally honest, the Rangers third and fourth lines outplayed the top two lines. With the exception of a dangerous turnover at the Buffalo blueline that teammate Marc Staal bailed him out on, Tanner Glass played a strong game along with Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast. In fact, Fast was bumped up by Alain Vigneault for the third replacing an ineffective J.T. Miller, who struggled on his 22nd birthday. I still hated seeing him get benched due to a penalty by the coach, who seems to have it out for him.

Fast came close on one chance, hitting the far goalpost in the third with the game still scoreless. It was actually Keith Yandle who unlocked the tie when his wrist shot went though a Chris Kreider screen past Lindback at 7:31. On a good forecheck by St. Louis, he got the puck to Yandle at the point. This time, he didn’t hesitate firing a seeing eye shot through traffic for his first goal as a Ranger. Also coincidentally his first point in six games since coming over from Arizona.

Yandle has been better defensively than advertised. He hasn’t struggled in his end and has made good reads either by skating out or making a smart first pass. Maybe playing for the Coyotes had an adverse affect. He remained on the third pair teamed with Hunwick, who replaced injured Kevin Klein. Marc Staal worked with Dan Boyle, who had a solid game.

If there’s an area that remains an eyesore, it’s the power play. In three attempts against a horrible penalty killing team, they didn’t come close. If you want to skip a portion of any Ranger game, just take your break when they’re on a 5-on-4. It is hideous. All they do is pass, pass, pass. One example had Boyle with the puck wide open and he hesitated before shooting into a Sabre. It really is exasperating.

Fortunately, it’s not costing them. The Rangers are now three points up on the slumping Islanders, who were shutout by the Canadiens at home. With 15 games left, it looks like it’s their division to win or lose. With the Caps losing Friday and the Pens suffering a shutout against the resurgent Bruins that saw Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin hurt, the Rangers are in great position.

Keep winning and they’ll lock up the Metro and earn home ice. A St. Louis empty netter sealed it. It was his 20th of the season.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Anders Lindback, BUF (31 saves incl. 13/14 in 3rd)

2nd Star-Keith Yandle, NYR (1st goal as a Ranger-5th of season, 3 SOG in 6 attempts, +1 in 18:34)

1st Star-MacKenzie Skapski, NYR (20 saves for 1st NHL shutout-2-0-0 vs Sabres)

Notes: Playing his third straight game over James Sheppard, Glass recorded four hits and lost a scrap to Nicolas Deslauriers despite coming back. … Despite not recording a point for a ninth consecutive game, Derek Stepan was effective winning 14 of 19 draws while registering four shots and going plus-two in 18:03. … Hunwick took 21 shifts (15:29) finishing with a shot, a minor penalty and a plus-one. … As a team the Rangers won 34 of 53 faceoffs. Dominic Moore went 8-and-3. Philip Varone went 6-and-5 for Buffalo. … Sabres blocked 18 shots to the Rangers’ 4 with Mike Weber accounting for 9.