Rangers 3, Sabres 1
Rick Nash scored his team-leading 37th goal and added an assist while Mackenzie Skapski won in his NHL debut as visiting New York improved to 5-0-2 in its last seven contests.
Carl Hagelin and Mats Zuccarello also tallied for the Rangers, who defeated Buffalo for the sixth straight time to move within three points of the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders with two games in hand. Derick Brassard set up a pair of goals to increase his assist streak to a career-high six games and the 20-year-old Skapski finished with 24 saves.
Matt Moulson scored 14 seconds into the contest to record his 300th career point, but the Sabres mustered little else the rest of the way en route to their 24th loss in 27 games (3-22-2). Michal Neuvirth turned aside 40 shots to fall for the 12th time in 13 contests (1-11-1).
After Buffalo scored mere seconds into first period, the Rangers responded in kind just 37 ticks into the second as Brassard's sharp diagonal pass from the left point found Nash for a one-timer from the right faceoff dot to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Nash nearly matched Washington captain Alex Ovechkin with his league-leading 38th goal, but his shot hit the post before Zuccarello cleaned up the rebound at 8:05 of the session.
The Sabres provided a rude greeting for Skapski, taking advantage of a turnover before captain Brian Gionta wired a centering feed that Moulson redirected home to open the scoring. The Rangers answered at 5:51, as J.T. Miller's long feed sent Hagelin in on a breakaway before the Swede wristed a shot that trickled past Neuvirth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The contest originally was scheduled for Nov. 21, but it was postponed due to a snowstorm. ... Skapski, who was a sixth-round pick in the 2013 draft, began the season with Greenville in the ECHL before being shuffled to Hartford in the American Hockey League. ... Moulson's goal was Buffalo's quickest since LW Tyler Ennis tallied 10 seconds into a contest versus St. Louis on Nov. 13, 2013.