Rangers at Sabres
THE STORY: It may not have been the shot heard ’round the hockey world, but New York Rangers center Artem Anisimov ignited quite the battle and a war of words following his goal “celebration” in Thursday's shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. After scoring a shorthanded goal, Anisimov skated back toward the blue line, spun to face the Lightning net, held his stick as if it was a rifle and pretended to fire shots. The gesture was not well-received, particularly by Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier, who was in the line of fire and charged at Anisimov. On Friday, Anisimov apologized to Tampa Bay and promised there would be no encore. "I never do that celebration again,” Anisimov said. “It’s a good lesson for me. ... No more shooting.” The Buffalo Sabres will have the first chance to see if Anisimov is true to his word when they host the Rangers on Saturday night.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG2, MSG
ABOUT THE RANGERS (15-6-4): Anisimov’s rifle backfired on New York, which lost in a shootout to Tampa Bay for its second straight defeat following a five-game winning streak. The Rangers have won their last three road games, scoring 15 goals in the process. Brad Richards was denied in the shootout Thursday, but he picked up an assist on a goal by Ryan Callahan to extend his points streak to seven games. Richards has nine goals and 10 assists in his last 17.
ABOUT THE SABRES (15-11-2): Buffalo halted a three-game home skid with a 2-1 overtime win over Florida on Friday night. Jason Pominville scored on a breakaway in OT, giving him 15 points in his last 15 games. Derek Roy also scored for the Sabres, who will get left wing Ville Leino back Saturday after he served a one-game suspension for elbowing. LW Corey Tropp left Friday’s game with an upper-body injury and C Jochen Hecht exited after he was hit by a puck.
OVERTIME:
1. The Rangers need one more win for win No. 2,500 in franchise history. Only four other franchises have reached that milestone.
2. Buffalo is 5-2-1 against the Rangers the past two seasons, holding New York to two goals or fewer six times.