Sabres-Rangers: Sabres Win 2-1, for Fourth Straight Win, Stay Perfect in 2009

This was a statement game for the Buffalo Sabres. Sure, they had won three straight, even defeating the big bad Bruins, but their play has been so inconsistent all season, Buffalo fans couldn't be faulted for wondering if the Sabres really had turned a corner.

The New York Rangers were coming into town having won only two of their last seven games, and were in need of a win. The Sabres had beaten the Rangers 3-1 in New York earlier in the year and the Rangers could be expected to be fired up for revenge and looking to get their season back on track.

Unlike their last few games, where the Sabres came out storming, the first period was an up-and-down affair. The Rangers outshot the Sabres 14-7 but scoring chances were fairly even.  

As the period wound down, the Rangers fourth line put some pressure on the Sabres defense and the puck came free to Rangers defenseman Paul Mara. Mara fired an innocent wrist shot at the net, but there was a lot of traffic in front and Miller was totally screened.

The pucked deflected off Colton Orr and over Miller's shoulder and the Rangers were up 1-0.

The Rangers kept up the pressure in the second period and the Sabres inexplicably reverted to the kind of one-handed, give-away-the-puck, fire-it-blindly-around-the-boards kind of play that they had exhibited during the dark losing days of December.

The fans began razzing the home team. Only Ryan Miller's stellar play kept the score 1-0 as he robbed several Rangers, especially Dubinsky, on dangerous scoring chances.

Suddenly, late in the period, Jason Dawes made an errant pass in the neutral zone that Spacek intercepted. He quickly chipped the puck to Roy who skated into the zone with Vanek on his left and Drew Stafford far right. Roy slid a soft pass to Vanek who immediately threaded the needle with a cross-rink pass through Chris Drury's legs to Stafford.  

Ranger goalie Valiquette stopped Stafford's shot but Roy had continued on to the net and slid the rebound through Valiquette's legs for the tying goal. Despite being thoroughly outplayed, the Sabres were back in the game.

The third period featured some great scoring chances by both teams, with the Sabres getting the better of the play, but this time it was Valiquette who sparkled in keeping the puck out of the net.  

The Sabres' best chance came when Tim Connolly set up Adam Mair in the slot. Mair's fired it at the lower left corner but Valiquette flashed out his skate and made the save.

As the period progressed, the Ranger's pressure slackened as they only forechecked one man, seemingly content to play for the tie and take their chances in overtime. As the Sabres attacked, the Rangers were still able to generate some great scoring chances, with Miller having to turn away a Drury slap shot from the slot.

When the game ended in regulation still tied at 1-1, you could almost hear a collective sigh of relief from both benches that they had each earned a point.

The Sabres because they had been so thoroughly outplayed in the second period that they really hadn't deserved to win and the Rangers because they hadn't blown a game they probably should have put away.

The Rangers had the better chances in the OT, although Vanek probably had the single best opportunity with just over a minute to go.

And so the game went to a shoot-out and the Sabres had to be thankful they were facing Valiquette instead of Henrik Lundquist.  Not that Valiquette is weak, but Lundquist is one of the best shoot-out goalies in the NHL with a 7-1 record this year.

The Sabres shooters were Kotalik, Stafford, and Roy.  The Rangers countered with Zherdev, Naslund, and Drury. Kotalik weaved in but this time did use his patented forehand to backhand roof shot move.

Instead, he calmly fired a wrist shot just inside the post for his fifth goal in six shoot-out attempts this year. Zherdev deked and Miller stoned him. Stafford went five hole and Valiquette made the save.  

Naslund made a nice backhand move and had Miller out of position, but the puck slid harmlessly off his stick.  A goal by Roy would ice the game but Valiquette stopped him.

And so it came down to Chris Drury against Ryan Miller. Drury, the former Sabre captain, had caused much hand-wringing in Buffalo when the Sabres management was unwilling to spend the dollars to sign either Drury or Danny Briere after reaching the Stanley Cup semi-finals in 2007.

Miller, on the other hand, is the face of the new, post-Drury and Briere Sabres.  Unwilling to lose Miller as they had lost Drury and Briere, the Sabres signed Miller before this season started to a five-year, $31 million contract extension.

While Miller's play this season has not been consistently great and he has heard some criticism even from his coach Lindy Ruff, his goal against average and save percentage are better than his averages for his career to date.

Miller's shoot-out style is to come far out of his net, as far as the hash marks at the edge of the face-off circles, reducing the shooter's chance for success on a shot and daring the shooter to try to deke him.  

Drury accelerated, looking as if he was hoping to skate past Miller and beat him on the backhand side. But Miller stayed with him, covering the short side and deflecting Drury's attempt. Ryan Miller had delivered some sweet poetic justice to his Sabre fans.

The Sabres travel to Detroit for a game against one of the leagues best teams tomorrow night. The Red Wings will be rested having last played Thursday while the Sabres will be playing back-to-back games and coming off the emotional high of beating the Rangers in SO.

Lindy Ruff will probably start back-up Patrick Lalime in view of Miller having played six games in a row culminating in his 43 save brilliant effort tonight.

In other words, there are plenty of reasons for the Sabres' winning streak to be broken in Detroit. That said, this team answered the question tonight. It almost looked like they didn't believe in themselves during tonight's dismal second period, but Ryan Miller was their best player and kept them in it. And when Roy scored the equalizer, the team took off.  

They have turned a corner. No one expects them to go undefeated for the rest of 2009, but the future looks far brighter than it did a month ago.

NOTES

Tim Connolly returned for his first game since fracturing a rib in early November and did not look out of place.  He logged more than fifteen minutes of ice time.  Sabres rookie defenseman Chris Butler was a healthy scratch despite playing exceptionally well since being called up from Portland.  

Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival had a scary moment when Paul Gaustad checked him near the Sabres bench just as the door to the Sabres bench opened.  Rozsival's face hit right on the corner of the door opening.  

He left the ice immediately and did return but is reported to be okay after receiving stitches in his cheek.