National Hockey League
Buffalo 3, NY Rangers 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 3, 2021
Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Referees: Brandon Blandina, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen: Tyson Baker, Andrew Smith
Attendance: N/A

Tage Thompson scored the game-winning goal in the second round of the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres rallied for a 3-2 victory over the visiting New York Rangers Saturday night.

Buffalo won for the second time in three games following its 18-game losing skid (0-15-3). The Sabres also won their first game in 22 tries when trailing after two periods.

Thompson scored the only goal of the shootout when he slowed down as he approached the crease and lifted a wrist shot over Igor Shesterkin just inside the left post.

Linus Ullmark made a glove save on Artemi Panarin in the first round and made a diving pad save on Mika Zibanejad in the second round. The game ended when New York's Kaapo Kakko lost control of the puck before releasing a shot in the third round of the shootout.

Victor Olafsson forced overtime when he scored with 3:41 remaining in regulation by lifting a slap shot from the middle of the slot over Shesterkin moments after Panarin committed a defensive zone turnover along the right wing boards.

Casey Mittelstadt scored the other goal for Buffalo and Ullmark made 28 saves, including a diving stick save on New York's Vitali Kravtsov with 1:58 left in the third.

Panarin scored twice for the Rangers, who are 5-2-1 in their past eight games and are four points behind the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the East Division.

Panarin gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 2:08 left in the second when he lifted a one-timer over Ullmark. Buffalo challenged the call for offsides, but the NHL said replays were inconclusive and the goal stood.

New York almost took a 3-1 lead into the third, but defenseman Jacob Trouba's redirection of a K'Andre Miller pass came right after the buzzer sounded.

Shesterkin stopped 27 shots.

New York opened the scoring on a power play at 10:02 of the first on a deft play by Panarin, who fired the puck into the vacated right side of the net after it caromed off the end boards.

Mittelstadt tied the game nearly three minutes after Panarin's goal when he finished off a 2-on-1 rush by lifting a wrist shot from the lower edge of the left circle over Shesterkin's stick.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NY Rangers   Buffalo
Artemi Panarin 2 Points Casey Mittelstadt 1
Artemi Panarin 2 Goals Casey Mittelstadt 1
Adam Fox 2 Assists Rasmus Dahlin 1
Artemi Panarin 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Igor Shesterkin .931 Save Percentage Linus Ullmark .933
Igor Shesterkin 27 Saves Linus Ullmark 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Rangers 30 2 1-3 2-2 4 26
Buffalo 29 3 0-2 2-3 6 31
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Sabres have a W/L % of .143 after a win and .241 after a loss.
  • NY Rangers will play their next game at home against Pittsburgh. The Rangers have a W/L % of .412 after a win and .526 after a loss.