The great outdoors have been very kind to the New York Rangers since the National Hockey League created its Winter Classic and Stadium Series events.
On New Year’s Day, the 10th Annual Winter Classic, was no exception for the Rangers as JT Miller potted rebound off a shot from Kevin Shattenkirk at 2:43 of overtime to give the Rangers a 3-2 win over the home side Buffalo Sabres.
“I mean, that’s a pretty surreal moment, really special,” said Miller of his power play goal to win it. “I can share it with my family and friends. In front of 40,000 people, that’s something you can only dream about.
“It was a blast. It was everything obviously I hoped it would be.”
Extra time was necessary after the Rangers squandered a 2-0 lead they had built through the first half of the opening period of play.
Paul Carey and Michael Grabner capitalized on lax Sabres defensive play for the early lead.
“Everyone was excited and looking forward to this game,” Grabner said. “It was a nice day yesterday with the families, so you’re just trying to get all those emotions and bottle them up for the game, I think, and I think it showed at the start. We had a pretty good start.”
The Rangers improved to 21-13-5, a far cry from the 1-6-2 start the club got off to back in October.
Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves to keep a perfect 4-0-0 record in outdoor contests.
“Coming home and being able to play in front of the same fans I probably shared a couple hockey games with myself, and baseball games, I think we all really took it in and enjoyed it as much we could, and I’m glad we won for them as well,” Shattenkirk said after the win.
Rasmus Ristolainen cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the middle frame off a shot from the blue line that seemed to deflect off a Rangers’ defenseman’s glove.
“We got the puck deep and [Ryan O’Reilly] made a strong play there, 1-on-1 battle, got me the puck,” Ristolainen said. “I tried to look for space and get the puck there, and it was good that it went in.”
Sam Reinhart struck for the game tying goal in the third period.
The loss dropped the Sabres’ record to 10-20-9.
[WATCH: All Rangers vs. Sabres highlights]
Robin Lehner was magnificent in the Sabres goal throughout the game and was responsible for the club making it to overtime; he made 39 saves in the loss.
“What a great atmosphere for our team and for our fans,” Sabres head coach Phil Housley said. “We started the game, I think we weren’t really moving our feet that well. We took an early penalty, which I think put us on our heels and it got them some momentum. But we got the puck in deep and started to forecheck.
“The second period was really solid for us. Third period could have gone either way, but I’m really proud of our guys. It’s unfortunate that stick penalty had to happen.”
For Lehner, it was another tough loss without a supportive offense in front of him. His 39 saves were frequently brilliant and most cases game-savers.
The game-winner was off a terrific shot from the blue line by Shattenkirk and an unfortunate rebound that could not be cleared away form the defense.
“[J.T. did] a great job on the shot, got a nice tip on it, and his ability to stay with it and have the presence of mind to find that rebound was a great play by him,” Shattenkirk said.
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