Sabres 4, Rangers 3
NEW YORK - Center Ryan O'Reilly scored twice as the Buffalo Sabres prevented the New York Rangers from clinching a playoff spot with a 4-3 victory at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
The Rangers (43-26-9) have lost three straight while the Sabres (33-35-11) have won two in a row.
Left winger Matt Moulson also scored for the Sabres, who received 33 saves from ex-Ranger goaltender Chad Johnson.
Centers Kevin Hayes and Derek Stepan along with left winger J.T. Miller scored for the Rangers. Backup goaltender Antti Raanta made 14 saves on 15 shots in relief of starting goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
O'Reilly's first goal was a gift from Lundqvist. Defenseman Zach Bogosian pushed a soft shot on net, which Lundqvist directed into the slot with his stick. O'Reilly was there to gather the rebound and fire a shot past Lundqvist to put the Sabres ahead 1-0 at 10:07.
Less than three minutes later, O'Reilly finished a pass from Jack Eichel on a 2-on-1 to double the lead. Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein was caught flat-footed in the neutral zone, which allowed Eichel to drive to the net unfettered and hit O'Reilly with a pass at the right post.
Forty-six seconds into the second period, Lundqvist's night was done. Zemgus Girgensons smacked home a rebound from a shot by left winger Johan Larsson that put the Sabres ahead 3-0.
Lundqvist allowed three goals on nine shots.
Hayes got the Rangers on the board at 2:58 of the second period with his 13th goal of the season. Left winger Eric Staal put the puck into the slot from behind the net and Hayes snapped a shot that beat Johnson to the stick side to make it 3-1.
A miscommunication between Raanta and defenseman Keith Yandle allowed Moulson to make it 4-1 at 13:09.
After a sloppy handoff between the two behind the net, center Cal O'Reilly forced a turnover. Moulson's initial shot wouldn't go, but his second attempt on the backhand gave him his seventh goal of the season.
Miller cut it to 4-2 with 34.7 seconds remaining in the second period when a bounce off the end boards from a shot by defenseman Ryan McDonagh caromed to him for the easy tap-in with Johnson out of position.
Stepan's 19th goal made it 4-3 at 4:52 of the third period when he deflected a shot by left winger Chris Kreider that left Johnson with no chance of making a save.
NOTES: Sabres LW Tyler Ennis, out since late December because of a concussion, did not make the trip, but coach Dan Bylsma hopes to have him back for the final week of the season. ... Bylsma also said Sabres D Cody Franson (concussion) won't play again this season. ... Rangers RW Mats Zuccarello played in his 300th NHL game. ... Rangers LW Oscar Lindberg was a healthy scratch for the ninth straight game. ... Rangers D Dylan McIlrath hasn't played since March 6. He dealt with a knee injury but is now a healthy scratch.