Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway scored 30 seconds apart during a four-goal barrage in the second period as the Buffalo Sabres rolled to a 6-1 victory over the host New York Rangers on Thursday night.
The Sabres earned their second straight lopsided win after their three-game losing streak. They put away the game Thursday with four goals in a span of 11:06 in the second.
Rasmus Dahlin scored 26 seconds into the first period. Dylan Cozens made it 2-0 at 2:45 of the second. Thompson scored his ninth goal of the season with 8:21 left in the period and Greenway increased Buffalo’s lead to 4-0.
Sam Lafferty capped the outburst for the Sabres, who scored at least five goals for the fifth time this season. Zach Benson scored on a power play in the third after setting up Cozens to start the second-period outburst.
Buffalo scored a fifth goal with a little more than three minutes left in the second but the goal was disallowed for offsides. Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves.
Will Cuylle scored early in the third for the Rangers, who suffered their most lopsided of the season.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin was pulled after allowing five goals on 12 shots and was replaced by Jonathan Quick.
Buffalo scored on its first shot by capitalizing on sloppy New York puck management. Ryan Lindgren cleared the puck from the left corner along the boards to Cuylle, who quickly lost the puck to Ryan McLeod.
McLeod moved the puck across the slot to Bowen Byram and he fed it to Dahlin, who scored when he took a shot from the right circle that trickled by Shesterkin’s right pad.
After the Rangers could not clear the defensive zone, Cozens moved the puck to the left corner where Benson beat New York’s Alexis Lafreniere. Benson passed to Cozens, who cut past defenseman K’Andre Miller through the left circle and sent a shot under Shesterkin’s pads.
Thompson’s blast from above the circles made it 3-0 and Greenway finished a pass from Jason Zucker and beat New York defenseman Adam Fox to the left side of the crease for an easy tap-in. Lafferty finished the onslaught by converting on a two-on-one with Beck Malenstyn. Benson scored on a tap-in with a little more than eight minutes left in the third.
