In New York, Alex Tuch hit for a pair of goals on Monday night to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-1 win over the Rangers.
“It was everyone, everyone put in a lot of effort,” Tuch said. “You know what, we were a little upset with how, obviously, the game went in New Jersey, came out flat. Make all the excuses in the book, but we had to be better and we responded, and that was big for our group.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves in the win.
The Sabres moved to 10-10-2.
“In this league, you have to stick to a game plan, you have to have consistent structure, and I thought we were dialed into that,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “Much, much more dialed into that obviously, and less about individual skill and making a fancy play. It’s something we have to hit the repeat button on. I think our guys, you get a feeling like this after a game, it’s headed for more of the same.”
The Sabres took a 1-0 lead at 15:41 of the first on a marker form JJ Peterka .
“We wanted to bring way more intensity and play at a level that we can play,” Peterka said. “The other night wasn’t our game. We knew that. We looked at the video and today we wanted to come out hot.”
Tuch scored his first of the night with 27 seconds left in the middle frame for a 2-0 lead.
The Rangers dropped to 15-4-1.
“We didn’t play the way that we wanted to play in order to be successful,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “That’s why we sit here where we sit right now. So, we need to reset and we need to be ready to play.”
Mika Zibanejad was the lone striker for the Rangers, his power play goal in the third period trimmed the deficit to 2-1.
“The power play got that goal and gave us a chance, and we never really built anything off it,” the Rangers’ Jacob Trouba said.
Tuch scored his double at 15:31 for a 3-1 lead to the Sabres.
Casey Mittelstadt hit an empty net at 18:29 for a 4-1 lead.
Kyle Okposo added salt to the wound with seven seconds left for the 5-1 final.
Igor Shesterkin made 34 saves in the loss.
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