BUFFALO — This was just another end-of-the-season performance from the Rangers.
After getting largely outplayed for a majority of the night, the Blueshirts turned it on in the third period and scored the game-tying goal with 10:15 left in regulation to force overtime and secure at least one point.
That was all they got, however, as the Sabres’ Jeff Skinner scored 1:49 into the extra period to hand the Rangers a 3-2 loss Friday night at KeyBank Center.
The Rangers’ urgency level appears to be the same as a college senior in their second semester.
There’s no question this time of year can be tough to get up for. The Blueshirts already have clinched a playoff spot and are sitting pretty comfortably in third place in the Metropolitan Division standings with an 11-point cushion on the Islanders.
Staying healthy may be the No. 1 priority, but these are valuable tune-up games that should be treated as such. The Rangers seem to just want to get through them until the real game action begins on April 17.
Similarly to the Devils the night before, when the Rangers lost 2-1, the Sabres appeared to want it more.
But the third period saw the Rangers come alive. Adam Fox jammed the equalizer in to knot the game at two-all.
Buffalo fans were behind rookie goalie Devon Levi, who showed real poise in his NHL debut with 32 saves. He was sharp in his movements across the goal line, which he utilized to rob Kaapo Kakko on a potential game-tying one-timer toward the end of the second.
Every save was met with a thunderous applause and the chanting of his name from KeyBank Center. The 21-year-old Northeastern product reveled in it.
The Rangers gave Levi his ‘Welcome to the NHL’ moment, however, when the Kid Line cut the Sabres lead 2-1 at 12:17 of the second period.
Alexis Lafreniere put the puck on net before Filip Chytil followed up on the rebound. The puck was loose in the air and Kaapo Kakko batted it in to put the Rangers on the board.
The Rangers better be careful.
These final regular-season games may be meaningless in essence, but it’s not a time to be creating bad habits. Poor starts have become just that for the Rangers, who trailed after the opening 20 minutes for the fourth time in their last five games on Friday.
Over these last five contests, the Rangers have been outscored 8-3 and outshot 62-33 in the first frame. It’s true, they’ve posted a 3-1-1 record despite this, but it’s not a trait the Rangers will want to carry into the postseason.
Too many times in recent games the Rangers are behind the eight ball from the start. They’ve gotten away with it plenty of times, too, but that’s just a testament to the club’s knack for turning games around.
Levi didn’t see his first official NHL shot until over halfway through the first period, when Jimmy Vesey finally put one on net for the Rangers. Shortly after, Dylan Cozens sent a backhanded feed to JJ Peterka in the slot to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead.
On the flip side, the Rangers have been a third-period team in recent weeks. Whether they’re snagging the lead in the third or defending it, the Rangers have been efficient at closing out games.
They exploded for 20 shots in the final 20 minutes in comparison to the Sabres’ nine.
Maybe the Rangers are looking ahead to the playoffs. Maybe these games really don’t mean anything.
One thing is for certain: The Rangers have more to give.
