The New York Rangers (41-31-5) lost to the Buffalo Sabres (39-29-9) by the score of 1-0, tonight. For a recap and box score go to Yahoo! Sports and newyorkrangers.com.

...these guys can't make it easy on us can they. Didn't look like they were ready to match the intensity of the moment until it was too late. Got to be ready from the drop of the puck. Not sure how you can come out so flat in a game so big.

...the Rangers have now scored one goal combined in the last two games against Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller's backups. If the Rangers would have sent bodies to the net the entire game the way they did in the third they would have won.

...forget Vezina, the way Lundqvist is playing he should be getting Hart considerations.

...while Gaborik had five shots didn't seem like he had any velocity on them.

...thought AA had a great start to the game but as was the case with most of the team he couldn't hit the net with his shot. Rangers need to watch the Sabres, just get the puck on net.

...thought Avery was one of the best players on the ice and was rewarded with a whopping 10 minutes of ice time. Would have liked Torts to play him some shifts with Gabby and Stepan.

...while the Rangers defense has been great all year, they need to start generating some more offense. Especially the offensive minded McCabe who had a grand total of zero shots on goal tonight.

...got to assume MZA is back in tomorrow with either EC or Wolski headed to the press box. Just three shots on goal in the last four games for EC who has one of the best wrist shots in the league. Maddening.

...this loss drops the Rangers to 8th place and with Carolina's win over Montreal the Blueshirts are now just three points ahead of 9th.

...right back at it tomorrow night on Long Island.

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The New York Rangers (41-30-5, 87 pts., 7th in East) visit the Buffalo Sabres (38-29-9, 85 pts., 8th in East) at HSBC Arena tonight starting at 7:00 p.m. For a preview go to Yahoo! Sports.

Rangers Game Notes

TV: MSG2; Radio: 970AM The Apple, XM 207 (For MSG2 listings click here)

Probable Lines:
Gaborik-Stepan-Prospal
Dubinsky-Anisimov-Callahan
Avery-Christensen-Wolski
Fedotenko-Boyle-Prust

Staal-Girardi
McDonagh-Sauer
McCabe-Eminger

Goaltenders:
Henrik Lundqvist - 33-24-5, 2.24 gaa, .924 sv%, 11 so.

Jhonas Enroth - 5-2-1, 2.77 gaa, .906 sv%, 0 so.

Opponent Notes:
- Buffalo is 4-1-1 in their last six.

- Thomas Vanek has a goal in each of Buffalo's last two games, but has been held without one the last eight against the Rangers.

- The Sabres have killed off 35 of its last 36 penalties against.

- Buffalo is second in the East and fourth overall in the NHL in shots on goal at 33 per game.

- Jason Pominville has a three-game point streak with two goals and two assists.

-  D Shaone Morrisonn (Healthy Scratch), Jochen Hecht (Upper Body), Derek Roy (Quad), Jordan Leopold (Finger) and Mike Grier (Knee) are all out of tonight's game.

- Thomas Vanek leads the Sabres in points with 65 (27g, 38a), while Drew Stafford leads the team with 28 goals.

2010-11 Season Series:
Oct. 9 Rangers 6, Sabres 3 at Buffalo
Nov. 11 Rangers 3, Sabres 2 (OT) at MSG
March 1 Rangers 2, Sabres 3 at MSG
March 30 Rangers vs. Sabres at Buffalo

Opponent Blog:
Top Shelf Blog

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...first no Thomas on Saturday now no Miller. Rangers living a charmed life right now.

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Here's video of John Tortorella's pre-game presser (via The Blueshirts Blog)...



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@thenyrangers tweet out this pic of Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust playfully mixing it up before tonight's crucial game against the Sabres...


...nice to see the boys loose before tonight's huge game.

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Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants reports that John Tortorella says Chris Drury (knee) and Marty Biron (collarbone) are not skating yet. Among the injured, only Derek Boogaard (concussion) is on ice.

...probably won't see Biron unless the Rangers make it to the second round, while Dury's status seems a lot harder to predict. If he can get his knee healthy Ithis year I feel he can still help the Rangers in the playoffs with a spot start here and there.

...i don't see Boogaard playing this season. No need for a fighter in the playoffs.

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Andrew Gross reports that Mats Zuccarello and Matt Gilroy will be healthy scratches for tonight's game in Buffalo. As expected Henrik Lundqvist will be in net for the Rangers while Ryan Miller will be between the pipes for the Sabres.

...not very surprising. I thought Avery had a solid game in limited action against the Bruins on Saturday, while Wolski brings a little more experience than MZA.

...as far a Gilroy goes, he might be sitting in the press box for the rest of the season. Which isn't so much on knock on him as much as it's a testiment to how well everyone else is playing.

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Wes Goldstein at CBS Sports takes a look at the rookies besides Calder Trophy front runners Jeff Skinner (CAR), Logan Couture (SJ) and Michael Grabner (NYI) who are having fine first seasons in the NHL...

Derek Stepan: Debuting with an opening night hat trick wasn't exactly an omen of things to come because he needed nearly six weeks to score again. Still a 20-goal rookie campaign is nothing to sneeze at. Stepan has eased into his role as a versatile center by coach John Tortorella, spending most of his time on second or third lines, but playing comfortably on the top unit when injuries or circumstances have dictated.

...nice to see Stepan getting some respect around the league. 20 goals during a rookie campaign is very impressive.

...how is Sauer & McD not on this list?

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For those of you not familiar with the Yahoo Sports fantasy rotisserie scoring system click here. For more on TheNYRBlog Fantasy Hockey League Championship round click here.

OVERALL POINTS
Team   G   A  +/-  PPP  SHG  GWG  H   W  GAA  SV%  SO  TOT
TG    7.5  8   7   7.5  4.5   7  6.5  3  7.5  7.5  7   73

JDAS  7.5 4.5  5   7.5  4.5   7   8  6.5  3   3.5  3   60

MSGU   6   7  4.5  1.5  4.5   7   2  6.5  6    6   7   58

BLUE  2.5 4.5  6    4   4.5  2.5  3   3  7.5  7.5  7   52

FS    4.5 1.5  2    4   4.5   5  6.5 6.5  4    5   3   46.5

GS    2.5  6  4.5  1.5  4.5  2.5  1   3   5   3.5  3   37

S'94   1   3   3    4   4.5  2.5 4.5 6.5  2    2   3   36

GTFM  4.5 1.5  1    6   4.5  2.5 4.5  1   1    1   3   30.5

Team Key: JDAS = Jim Dolan's All Stars, TG = The Greeks, S'94 = Spring of '94, GTFM = GetTheFrlovMatteau, BLUE = BLUESHIRTS, FS = Fire Sather, MSGU = MS G-Unit, GS = Glen Sather

Scoring Key: G = Goals, A = Assists, +/- = +/-, PPP = Power Play Points, SHG = Shorthanded Goals, GWG = Game Winning Goal, H = Hits, W = Wins, GAA = Goals Against Average, SV% = Save Percentage, SO = Shutouts, TOT = Total Points


OVERALL STATS
Team         G  A  +/-  PPP  SHG  GWG  H  W  GAA  SV%  SO
GTFM         2  1  -6    2    0    0  13  0  5.00 .792  0

Fire Sather  2  1  -5    1    0    1  14  2  1.62 .947  0

Spring '94   0  2  -4    1    0    0  13  2  2.33 .927  0

Glen Sather  1  4   0    0    0    0   5  1  1.01 .941  0

The Greeks   5  7   8    3    0    2  14  1  0.00 1.00  1

MS G-Unit    3  5  11    0    0    2  10  2  0.50 .980  1

Dolan Stars  5  3   0    3    0    2  20  2  2.00 .941  0

BLUESHIRTS   1  3   4    1    0    0  12  1  0.00 1.00  1

Thank you to the Rangers and Glass Bangers T-Shirts (I definitely recommend checking them out) for hooking us up with some great prizes.

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