Sabres at Rangers
THE STORY: The New York Rangers were on the verge of turning the Eastern Conference race into a runaway after opening the month of February with six wins in seven games. New York still holds a comfortable seven-point edge over the Boston Bruins atop the conference entering Saturday's home game against the Buffalo Sabres, but the Rangers have cooled off in the last 10 days. Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the New York Islanders marked the first time the Rangers have dropped back-to-back games since Dec. 12 and 14.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG
ABOUT THE SABRES (27-27-7): Buffalo closed within five points of Florida for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 shootout win over Boston on Friday. It was the third straight win for the Sabres and netminder Ryan Miller, who has yielded only four goals in that span. Derek Roy had his four-game points streak halted, but he delivered the deciding goal in the shootout. The one glaring issue is a power play that has produced one goal in 32 opportunities.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (38-15-6): New York has lost three of four (1-2-1), the first time that has happened since October. The Rangers rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 8 1/2 minutes behind Marian Gaborik, who scored one of the goals and set up Derek Stepan’s tying tally before he also connected in the shootout. Henrik Lundqvist will be back in net after a night off. He has won eight of his last 10, allowing 13 goals in that span. Both losses came when New York was shut out.
OVERTIME:
1. Rangers captain Ryan Callahan needs one goal to reach 100 for his career.
2. Buffalo will be looking to halt a streak of nine straight losses in the second game of a back-to-back.