Rangers at Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres hosted the first Winter Classic in 2008 and will participate in the event exactly 10 years later on Monday afternoon, when they take on the New York Rangers in frigid temperatures at Citi Field in Queens. The Sabres, who lost 2-1 in a shootout against Pittsburgh in the inaugural Classic, are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference but have been playing better hockey of late with points in three of the last four games.

“Even though the results aren’t there (overall), you can see when we play a certain style, we’re very effective,” Buffalo coach Phil Housley told reporters after his team finished 4-5-4 in December. “Our guys are just doing the right things. We’re really heavy on our forecheck. We’re cleaning up our own end. … I like the aggressiveness that we have.” New York has earned points in six of its last seven games (4-1-2) coming into its second appearance in the Winter Classic, after losing in a shootout at Detroit 3-2 on Friday. The Rangers, who beat Philadelphia 3-2 in the 2012 outdoor event, can’t afford a letdown as they sit six points out of first place in the Metropolitan Division and five above the bottom. “At the end of the day, everyone is going to give you the answers: ‘It’s a huge game. We need the points.’ And that’s true,” Rangers left wing Rick Nash told the New York Post. “But I think it’s more of an event, a show that you put (on) and something you’ll always remember.”

TV: 1 p.m. ET, NBC, Sportsnet, TVA

ABOUT THE RANGERS (20-13-5): New York will be without Chris Kreider, who is tied for second on the team with 11 goals, for about two months due to a blood clot in his right arm and needs more from its top scorers. Mats Zuccarello (team-high 29 points) has not landed on the scoresheet in three games, J.T. Miller has notched one point in five contests, Pavel Buchnevich has gone without a goal for seven matches and Mika Zibanejad is pointless in his last seven outings. The Rangers are relying a lot on Henrik Lundqvist (422 career wins), who went 5-3-2 with a .936 save percentage in December.

ABOUT THE SABRES (10-20-8): Housley said there is a good vibe around the team, and 21-year-old center Jack Eichel has played a big part in the revival with seven goals and four assists in his last six games to take over the scoring lead (35 points). Eichel scored twice as Buffalo rallied for a 4-3 overtime win at New Jersey on Friday and owns a plus-5 rating over his last four games while Evander Kane has registered 11 of his 34 points in the last 12 contests. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scored his first goal of the season - the game-winner - on Friday and added an assist for his third multi-point performance of 2017-18.

OVERTIME

1. New York RW Michael Grabner tops the team with 17 goals but has been shut out in the last four games despite recording 12 shots.

2. Buffalo G Robin Lehner has posted a .933 save percentage in his last five contests and is 2-2-1 all-time versus the Rangers.

3. The Sabres went 2-0-1 against New York last season and has earned at least one point in four straight meetings (3-0-1).
Poll

Who will win this game?

Odds
SpreadMoneylineMoneyTotal
Buffalo SabresSabres+1 12  -2703270
5.50
o 360u -599
New York RangersRangers-1 12  1075-429
Moneyline Consensus: Buffalo Sabres: 0%     New York Rangers: 0%
Vegas Prediction: Buffalo: 2 (Loss)    NY Rangers: 4 (Win)
Season Series
BuffaloStatsNY Rangers
0-2-1Vs3-0-0
6Goals12
5.3Shot %12.1
33.3Power Play %37.5
54.8Faceoff %45.2