Christmas came early for fans who cheer for the Rangers. Following a disappointing 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 22, the New York Rangers rebounded by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in overtime on Saturday, Dec. 23.

Mika Zibanejad faked out both Rasmus Dahlin and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to set up Chris Kreider for the overtime winner at 2:28 into extras. Kreider’s 17th goal of the season sent the surprising Rangers into the holiday break with a 23-8-1 record with 47 points. The 47 points lead the Eastern Conference after 32 games played. Only the Vancouver Canucks have more points (49) out West to lead the league.

Rangers Winning Without Chytil and Kakko

The Rangers have done this without Filip Chytil for most of the first half. The timetable for a return is uncertain due to Chytil suffering a concussion on Nov. 2. Chytil had six assists in 10 games before going down. He’s been skating on his own. Whether he can come back remains to be seen. Given his concussion history, the Rangers will be extra cautious.

Meanwhile, injured forward, Kaapo Kakko has begun skating on his own. He suffered a lower-body injury in a collision with Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson on Nov. 27. When the injury occurred, he had two goals and an assist in 20 games. There’s been no update as to when he could return. Considering the way he landed into the boards, it’ll probably be a while before he’s back.

Lindgren Gives Rangers the Lead

Early on, Ryan Lindgren got a good shot on a shaky Luukkonen, who gave up a rebound, which no Ranger could put in. That wasn’t the only scoring chance he’d get in the first period. A little bit later, Lindgren gave the Rangers the lead by scoring his second goal of the season. Both have come in December. The other was back on Dec. 2.

The goal was set up by Jonny Brodzinski and Nick Bonino. On the forecheck, they combined to get the puck up to Lindgren for a wrist shot that beat Luukkonen through traffic to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead with 12:41 left in the first period. Brodzinski is up to a goal, and seven assists for eight points in 13 games.

Panarin Scores Team-leading 18th on the Power Play

In a period where both teams generated chances, most of the play was at even strength. However, that changed when Sabres forward Jordan Greenway hooked Vincent Trocheck to put the Rangers on the power play.

Following some good puck movement around the Sabres’ zone, Panarin took a Zibanejad pass and scored his team-leading 18th on the power play to put the Rangers up 2-0 with 4:25 left.

With the Sabres’ penalty killers focused on taking away Zibanejad’s shot from the left circle, the top unit was very patient. After Zibanejad moved the puck up for Panarin at the right point, his wrist shot went top shelf on Luukkonen, who never saw it.

Sabres Respond Quickly

Before they could get to the locker room with a two-goal lead, the Rangers allowed the Sabres to get back in it. They responded quickly by getting a goal from Rasmus Dahlin 62 seconds later to cut the deficit to one with 3:23 remaining in the period.

An aggressive Greenway won a puck battle with Braden Schneider in the corner. He then made a nice feed into the slot for a Dahlin one-timer that beat Igor Shesterkin to make it 2-1. It was Dahlin’s 10th goal. That’s tied with the Canucks’ Quinn Hughes for most goals by a defenseman this season.

It was the beginning of a tough night for Schneider. He struggled mightily throughout the contest, finishing minus-three. On for all three Sabres’ goals, Schneider had his ice time reduced by Rangers coach Peter Laviolette. He took 15 shifts and played 10:59.

Following Casey Mittelstadt’s goal that tied the game with over 13 minutes left in the third period, Schneider never saw the ice again. It was his turnover that led directly to Mittelstadt tying it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only time a Schneider mistake resulted in a Sabres goal.

Quinn Draws Sabres Even

With the Rangers leading by one at the start of the second period, it was the Sabres who made their push to tie the score before two minutes elapsed. Jack Quinn scored his second goal in three games to draw the Sabres even at 1:42.

On a rush started by J.J. Peterka, he got the puck up for Dylan Cozens. After Cozens gained the Rangers zone, he dropped the puck for Quinn, who skated around Schneider and fired a laser past Shesterkin that tied the score.

It was a case of the Rangers being too passive. Schneider backed up to give Quinn enough room to fire a lethal shot that went far side on Shesterkin. After the goal, Laviolette wasn’t pleased at the Rangers bench.

Zibanejad Stays Hot

A couple of minutes after Shesterkin made a key save on Kyle Okposo, the Rangers re-took the lead thanks to Zibanejad, who stayed hot by scoring his seventh goal over the last seven games.

It was part of a big game in which he extended his point streak to seven straight. He had a goal and two assists last night. That gave him 13 points (7-6-13) over that span entering Christmas vacation.

Blake Wheeler set up Kreider for a shot that rebounded off Luukkonen right to Zibanejad, who put the loose puck in to make it 3-2 with 12:47 left in the second period.

Cuylle’s Hit Leads to Fight

Moments after Will Cuylle landed a big hit on Sabres defenseman Ryan Johnson, he answered the bell when Erik Johnson challenged him to a fight. Both exchanged blows near the boards with Cuylle getting the takedown with 7:12 left in the period.

Due to Johnson starting the fight, he received an unsportsmanlike conduct and a game misconduct that ended his night early. For whatever reason, the refs also gave Jeff Skinner a misconduct that cost him 10 minutes. He didn’t return until less than three minutes into the third period.

On the power play, the Rangers were unable to capitalize on the Johnson minor penalty. Alexis Lafreniere got the best chance when he was set up in front. However, Luukkonen robbed him of a goal. Lafreniere had a few great chances during the game. Luukkonen stopped him twice, and a diving block by Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson prevented Lafreniere from scoring. He had a strong game despite not having any puck luck. That included hitting the crossbar on another good opportunity.

Mittelstadt Ties The Game

Less than seven minutes into the third period, Mittelstadt tied the game. On a Lindgren reverse to Schneider behind the Rangers’ net, he coughed up the puck due to some forecheck pressure from Greenway. That allowed Greenway to pass the puck to an open Mittelstadt who tied the score with 13:50 left in regulation.

With the game still deadlocked, Brodzinski drew a tripping minor on Skinner. That gave the Rangers an opportunity to take the lead. Although they came close during the first part of the power play, a turnover by Vincent Trocheck nearly proved costly. Alex Tuch stole the puck and broke in for a shorthanded bid. However, his backhand was stooped by Shesterkin, who heard the familiar, “Ig-or, Ig-or” chants from the crowd.

The game remained tied late in the third period. Barclay Goodrow was sent off for high-sticking Tuch with 2:51 left. After the Sabres failed to get any shots on the first half of the man-advantage, some pressure from Zibanejad forced Dahlin to take a hooking penalty with 1:14 remaining. That led to some four-on-four.

Once the Goodrow penalty expired, the Rangers went to the power play. Luukkonen made a tough save on a tricky Panarin shot to send the game to overtime.

Kreider The Christmas Hero

On a four-on-three to start the overtime, the Rangers couldn’t get any shots through. Instead, it was the Sabres’ penalty killers who came through with some key blocks. Connor Clifton blocked a pair of Panarin shots. Then, Samuelsson blocked a Kreider attempt. Both Clifton and Samuelsson each had seven blocks. As a team, the Sabres blocked 26. They combined for 14 of the 26.

Before Kreider sent everyone home happy for the holidays, the Sabres had three great chances to win it. A Tuch takeaway led to Mittelstadt coming in on Shesterkin. This time, Shesterkin stopped Mittelstadt’s backhand to keep the game alive.

Following a Trocheck missed shot wide, the dangerous Mittelstadt got another opportunity. After Shesterkin stopped him, he then foiled a point-blank shot from Tuch with players scrambling. That clutch save allowed the Rangers to come out victorious.

Following an Adam Fox defensive play, he got the puck to Zibanejad. The hot hand all night, he patiently skated around a diving Dahlin and then faked out Luukkonen completely to set up Kreider for the overtime winner at 2:28. Zibanejad made a great play with the puck and caught Luukkonen out of his net to make Kreider the Christmas hero.

It was an exciting conclusion to a great game. Maybe it wasn’t perfect from a Rangers’ standpoint. But they found a way to go home for the holidays with another victory.

Rangers Host Capitals After Christmas Break

Following the Christmas break, the Rangers will host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, Dec. 27. The Caps took the first regular season meeting 4-0 on Dec. 9. It was as uncompetitive as the final score indicated. The rematch is at Madison Square Garden.

After Wednesday’s home game, the Rangers end the calendar year with their annual two-game road trip in Florida. They’ll first take on the Florida Panthers on Dec. 29. That’ll be followed up by a back-to-back against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Dec. 30.

The Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division by six points over the rival New York Islanders. The Philadelphia Flyers are third in the division with 40 points. The Capitals are fourth with 39. The disappointing Carolina Hurricanes are fifth with 38, and the underachieving New Jersey Devils are sixth with 36. In seventh place are the perplexing Pittsburgh Penguins with 34.

At some point, there should be some separation from the pack. That won’t happen until next year.

I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!! This is a special time of year. Enjoy it and appreciate it. 🎄✨️❄️☃️

Derek

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