New York Rangers

What a difference Jack Eichel has been to the Buffalo Sabres line-up.  And what a great season debut in front of the home fans.  Eichel took over control of Thursday's night's game against the New York Rangers with a pair of third period goals to lead the Sabres to a 4-3 victory.

For the third straight game the Buffalo Sabres built an early 3-0 lead and for the second game in a row they held on to win.  Ryan O'Reilly scored a pair of goals less than three minutes apart in the first period and  Zemgus Girgensons scored early in the second period and the Sabres went on to a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers.

A 3-0 hole was too much for the Buffalo Sabres to overcome Tuesday night against the New York Rangers.  The Sabres made a game of it but fell to the Rangers for the ninth straight time 4-2.

The Buffalo Sabres have the talent on the roster, but they have a way to go to beat the big boys.  It's the little mistakes that continue to kill them and it happened again Monday night in New York against the Rangers.  The Sabres twice came back to tie the game, but three goals on four shots at the beginning of the third period propelled the Rangers a 6-3 win.

Offensively challenged would be a good way to describe this year's edition of the Buffalo Sabres. They pass when they should shoot and shoot when they should pass. And the Sabres made it an easy night for New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundquist, who stopped all 29 Buffalo shots to pick up a 2-0 shutout victory.

Los Angeles, Anaheim, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina.  It makes me sick when I go down the list of teams that have won the Stanley Cup in non-traditional hockey towns.  And then when I think about the teams that have won the Cup - name a city in the Northeast - Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Toronto, Montreal, Detroit.

For the third straight game the Sabres went to overtime, then a shootout, but for the first time this season they fell.  The Rangers scored twice in shootout to beat the Sabres 3-2 in New York.The Sabres got into penalty trouble in the third period and it cost them.

The Buffalo Sabres continue to battle for a playoff spot and helped their own cause by beating the New York Rangers in New York Friday night 4 to 1.  Drew Stafford led the way with a pair of goals while linemate Tyler Ennis and Travis Turnbull, playing in his second game for the Sabres scored the other Buffalo goals. ...

The Buffalo Sabres played a tremendous defensive hockey game last night at First Niagara Center - they just had a tough time scoring.  That's no different from the way the whole season has been going.  The game against the New York Rangers ended in a scoreless tie after overtime setting the stage for a shootout.  That's where the Rangers came thru for a 1-0 win.

After a disappointing overtime loss in Washington the Buffalo Sabres head to Carolina for a game that could determine which team gets a playoff spot.  The Sabres rallied from a 2-nothing deficit to take a 4-3 lead late in the game against the Capitals, but the Caps got a power play goal in the final minute of regulation, then Alex Ovechkin scored the game winner in overtime on a shot that deflecte