The bitter taste of last night's 4-3 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils is still circulating in the mouths of the New York Rangers. Based on their play in regulation, New York completely deserved to win that game but an unfortunate bounce late in the third period would tie the game and force overtime and then later a shootout. Not being able to grab the full two points in a game that they led with under a minute to go is painstakingly frustrating, but thankfully they will have a chance to bounce-back when they take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight at Niagra Center.
For the Blueshirts, who lead the Eastern Conference by just one point now, consistency will be key in maintaining a top four spot in the standings. Their play, for the most part, was consistent last night, especially on defense. But the team cannot allow themselves to get too low or too high after a single game, because that will only affect their future performances. This applies to the club’s mentality going into tonight's contest, because it's crucial they forget Tuesday's loss as quickly as possible and start fresh in Buffalo.
The Sabres are a team that heavily struggled in the first half of the season, and even leading up to the All-Star break. They are 3-6-1 in their past ten games and are below .500 at the moment. This has left the Sabres in 14th in the East, just two points ahead of the last place Carolina Hurricanes. However, the three wins they have picked up in the last ten games have been back-to-back-to-back, with the most recent coming last night against the Montreal Canadiens. As of late the Sabres have been playing better hockey, so they should not be taken lightly.
Thomas Vanek did leave in the first period with an injury on Tuesday, though, and is not expected to be in the lineup tonight against the Rangers. That's a big name to lose, which puts even more of the spotlight on captain Jason Pominville. Pominville, who attended the 2012 All-Star Game in Ottawa, has 3 points in his last five games.
In one meeting with the Sabres this season, the Rangers picked up a 4-1 win thaks to rookie Carl Hagelin's two goals.
Having played in an intense match that made it to a shootout last night, the obvious concern for the Rangers in this one will be fatigue. New York has been strong on the second half of back-to-backs this season, but they were worked pretty hard against the Devils in that seesaw battle of momentum.
The good thing is that a new face will be between the pipes as Henrik Lundqvist returns to the net for the first time since All-Star Weekend. Lundqvist was rested for whatever reason in Jersey, so he should be more than fresh for tonight's tilt. Head coach John Tortorella mentioned that he wanted Henrik to get two full days of practice in before taking the crease again, which he's gotten. If fatigue does kick in for the Rangers in this one, they may need Henrik to back them up with big saves.
Also, I'm looking for a strong rebound performance out of Brad Richards after a lackluster game a night ago. Richie had his chances, but did not perform and wasn't too noticeable, either. He's getting paid the big bucks and needs to play better hockey than what we've seen as of late. His focus is clearly missing right now.
New York Rangers Lineup
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