Kreider helps Rangers hand Sabres 14th straight loss, 5-3

NEW YORK (AP) Chris Kreider scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal in the third period, and the New York Rangers beat Buffalo 5-3 on Monday night for the Sabres' franchise record-tying 14th straight loss.

Kaapo Kakko also scored twice and Adam Fox had a goal and two assists as the Rangers won for the fourth time in six games (4-1-1) by beating the Sabres for the 10th time in the last 13 meetings. Artemi Panarin had three assists and Ryan Strome added two.

Keith Kinkaid, starting a second consecutive game, stopped 16 shots to improve to 3-1-1 this season.

''It's a resilient group here,'' Fox said. ''Early in the year it was tough not winning games that we were going into the third with a lead. Against Washington (on Saturday) and this game we lost the lead but got it right back and didn't really falter.''

Rasmus Asplund, Dylan Cozens and Jeff Skinner scored for Buffalo, which fell to 0-12-2 to match the NHL's longest skid since the Sabres went 0-14-0 midway through the 2014-15 season.

''We have to face the facts and face it and accept it,'' Buffalo interim coach Don Granato said. ''It's not embarrassing. It's not, `This is awful.' It's find a way to do what you can take control of. And that's the way you move ahead. We don't want to dwell.''

Carter Hutton started and made two saves before leaving 2:51 into the game after the Rangers' Julien Gauthier slid hard into him while being pushed by Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. Dustin Tokarski, called up from the taxi squad earlier in the day, came on and finished with 33 saves in his first NHL appearance since Oct. 28, 2016.

With the Sabres trailing 3-1 after two periods, Cozens - back after missing four games with an injury - pulled them within one as he took a pass from Sam Reinnhart and beat Kinkaid at 1:09 of the third.

Skinner tied it at 4:22 on a breakaway after a turnover by the Rangers as he skated up the middle of the ice and fired into the top left corner for his third.

''They came out and didn't hang their heads,'' Granato said. ''Even to the end they believed. They kept a pace that showed you they believed. ... The body language was great and needs to continue.''

Kreider put New York back ahead just 1:25 later with his second power-play goal of the night as he batted the rebound of Strome's shot out of the air and past Tokarski for his 16th.

The Sabres pulled Tokarski for an extra skater with about 1:20 left, and Kakko added an empty-netter with 57.7 seconds left for his second of the night and fourth of the season to seal the win.

''They just seem really resilient and nothing fazing them right now,'' said acting coach Kris Knoblauch, who spent his fourth straight game behind the bench while the Rangers' coaching staff is out due to COVID-19 protocol. ''We did have a 3-1 lead, guys could have been upset and really worried, playing tight, but they didn't. They just continued to play on.''

Skinner had two chances early in the second period, but Kinkaid made sprawling saves on both attempts.

Asplund gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 3:52 of the second. Standing on the left side of the net when Riley Sheahan sent the puck from behind the cage toward him, Asplund knocked it down with his skate and quickly put it in while Kinkaid was looking for it on the other side. It was Asplund's second goal in six games this season.

Kakko tied it at 7:13 after he got a pass from Panarin and then knocked in the rebound of his own shot for the 20-year-old's first goal since Jan. 22, ending a 19-game drought.

''It always feels good when you score a goal but after a long time even better,'' Kakko said.

The Rangers had a 5-on-3 advantage for 19 seconds on overlapping penalties to Sabres defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Jacob Bryson. Seconds before the first penalty expired, Kreider deflected a pass from Panarin up into the top right corner with 9:21 left in the second.

Fox, playing in his 100th NHL game, made it 3-1 with 1:42 remaining on a Rangers rush as he knocked in the rebound of a shot by Mika Zibanejad for his third.

''Its a special accomplishment to even play one game in the NHL. Happy to play 100 here and have my parents come and my brother to most games,'' Fox said. ''It's definitely special for me. I'm glad we got the win.''

POWER PLAYS

The Sabres went 0 for 2 on the power play, falling to 0 for 21 over their last 13 games.

The Rangers were 2 for 3 with the man advantage, improving to 4 for 13 over their last four games. Buffalo has given up eight goals on its opponents' 21 power plays over the last seven games.

MILESTONES

Kreider has 173 career goals, moving past Anders Hedberg for 20th place on the franchise list.

SABRES MOVES

Tokarski was called up to back up Hutton two days after Buffalo dealt G Jonas Johansson to Colorado for a sixth-round draft pick in 2021. G Linus Ullmark, sidelined with a lower-body injury since Feb. 27, is with the team on its four-game trip.

The Sabres also recalled Asplund from the taxi squad earlier in the day.

STATS

Strome has seven assists and eight points during a six-game point streak. He also has assists in a career-high five straight. ... Panarin has totaled 12 assists and 18 points in 15 career games against the Sabres. ... Kreider has 10 goals and 14 points in 22 games against Buffalo.

UP NEXT

Sabres: At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night to open a two-game series.

Rangers: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night to open a two-game series.

Zibanejad has 3 goals, 3 assists in Rangers' rout of Flyers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Mika Zibanejad is finding the net again. He's feeling good - and so are the Rangers.

Zibanejad had three goals and three assists, Adam Fox had five assists and the New York Rangers routed the Philadelphia Flyers 8-3 on Thursday night.

Zibanejad also had three goals and three assists in a 9-0 home win over the Flyers in their previous meeting eight days ago. He's the first NHL player ever with six or more points in consecutive games against one opponent in the same regular season.

''The puck seems to go in right now,'' Zibanejad said. ''It's nice to be able to contribute offensively for the team. It's obviously a great feeling when you win and you can contribute.''

New York continued where it left off in this one. Pavel Buchnevich added two goals, and Ryan Strome, K'Andre Miller and Filip Chytil also scored as the Rangers won their third straight and fifth in their last seven games.

''A lot of it is our top players executing plays,'' acting coach Kris Knoblauch said of the Rangers' recent success. ''Just really capitalizing on our opportunities, really good opportunities, but capitalizing.''

Zibanejad has been at the forefront of late. He had a career-high 41 goals in just 57 games last season, but struggled through the first 27 games this year with just three tallies. That changed in last Wednesday's win over the Flyers, and he's up to 10 goals through 32 games.

''I don't know if self-doubt is the right word, but it was a struggle obviously for me to get the puck in the net,'' he said. ''I try to stick by the work and trust myself that it's going to come. Now it's really been going for me and the whole team as well.''

Claude Giroux, Kevin Hayes and Sean Couturier scored for the slumping Flyers, who have lost four in a row and 10 of 14.

''This team has really lost its identity from where we were at the beginning of the year to where we are now,'' defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. ''We have to find something now. We're too good of a team to let it squander away. It's unacceptable.''

The Rangers scored three straight goals in the opening period then notched two power-play goals in the opening 2:06 of the second to chase goalie Carter Hart, who allowed five goals on 10 shots. They scored another goal 36 seconds later on their first shot against Brian Elliott.

Eleven shots, six goals and a 15-0 goal run over two games.

''We're going to get back to work,'' Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. ''We're going to work our way through this.''

Ryan Strome had three assists for the Rangers, who were led by Knoblauch for the fifth straight game. Igor Shesterkin, playing in his first game since March 4 due to a groin injury, made 41 saves.

Zibanejad scored his first with 6:24 left in the first on a deflection of Fox's slap shot from the point to make it 3-0. His second 54 seconds into the second period on the power play was a one-timer after a cross-ice pass from Fox, and he got his third 1:12 later on a slap shot from the slot.

''It's great to see him getting rewarded,'' Fox said. ''He does everything for us.''

That was the end of the day for the slumping Hart, who has allowed 16 goals over a three-game skid.

Miller scored on a wrister from the blue line that appeared to go off Gostisbehere on the first shot on Elliott.

Zibanejad got his sixth point with his third assist on Buchnevich's short-handed goal 33 seconds into the third.

Strome extended his points streak to seven straight games with his 11th goal of the season 8:01 into the contest to give New York a 1-0 lead, finishing a beautiful pass from Artemi Panarin with a one-timer just to the left of Hart. Strome has two goals and 10 assists during his streak.

HOME-ICE DISADVANTAGE

The Flyers have lost six of seven home games since fans returned to their building. They were 6-4 without fans in attendance.

COACHING CAROUSEL

New York welcomed back assistants Jacques Martin and Greg Brown, both of whom had been out due to COVID-19 protocols. Head coach David Quinn remained sidelined for the same reason.

CANCER FREE

Flyers' Oskar Lindblom received a strong ovation from his teammates during Thursday morning's skate, and Lindblom revealed after the game that it was after the news was relayed that his latest tests came back cancer free. Lindblom was diagnosed with bone cancer in December 2019.

UP NEXT

Rangers: At Flyers Saturday.

Morin's 1st career goal lifts Flyers past Rangers 2-1

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Sam Morin was slammed against the boards, suffocated by a mob of his Flyers teammates that smacked his helmet in celebration and wouldn't let him wiggle free.

Morin's first NHL goal, yes. A game-winner for a team in desperate need of a win, yes.

The triumph meant so much more for Morin - and his teammates. Morin had persevered through two separate ACL tears, hours of rehab, a futile position switch in attempt to revive his career, and just a handful of NHL games for this highlight.

''It's the best moment of my life,'' the 25-year-old Morin said.

Morin scored his first NHL goal with 4:27 left in the game to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Saturday.

''It's been a hard couple of years for me,'' Morin said.

Nolan Patrick also scored for the Flyers, who badly needed to win a close one against the Rangers. The Rangers had combined to beat the Flyers 17-3 in their past two meetings.

The Flyers moved into fifth place ahead of the Rangers in the East Division at 16-13-4 - the top four teams qualify for the playoffs - with 23 games left in a shortened season. They snapped a four-game losing streak.

Morin, the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft, had never scored a point in 14 career NHL games. The Flyers moved Morin from defense to winger and back to defense again over an injury-plagued career.

''I was a bit lost up there,'' Morin said of the position change. ''I think anyone could tell. I tried my best.''

Morin earned a reputation in the locker room and on the ice as one of the most upbeat Flyers, Coach Alain Vigneault described him as a ''good, big, young Frenchman'' who stayed ready when his number was called. The Flyers celebrated as if they had won Game 7 of a playoff series when Morin scored perhaps the goal of the season.

''I think that's why everybody is so happy. When you work so hard, and guys can see it, and you bring his energy every day, no matter if he is in the lineup or not in the lineup, it's something special and it just rubs off on the guys and we're so happy for him,'' forward Travis Konecny said.

New York beat the Flyers 9-0 last week and again 8-3 on Thursday, scoring 15 straight goals over the two games.

Mike Zibanejad turned New York's last two wins against the Flyers into laughers and it was almost comical when he scored again with 9:06 left in the first. Zibanejad floated around the crease and fired in Ryan Strome's pass from the circle for a power-play goal

The Rangers instantly tweeted, ''Mr. 300.''

OK, that number did seem to signify Zibanejad's goal total this season against the Flyers. It simply marked his career number of games, but seven goals over the last three games against one team is simply astounding.

Zibanejad had three goals and three assists in each of New York's last two wins against Philadelphia and became the first NHL player ever with six or more points in consecutive games against one opponent in the same regular season. He has only four goals and 20 points in his other 30 games.

So that 1-0 lead meant the rout was on?

Not so fast.

The Flyers showed some moxie and pushed back in the second period when they had a 5-on-3 edge for 1:17. Igor Shesterkin smothered two shots during the two-man edge and 2,500 Flyers fans booed when it became a one-man advantage. With three seconds left on the power play, Shayne Gostisbehere stopped a puck with his glove and took a slapper from the point. Patrick deflected the shot for his fourth goal of the season to make it 1-all.

''They came out hot in the beginning and I thought they were throwing pucks on net, they were spreading us in our own zone,'' Zibanejad said. ''We didn't really have the opportunity to get down there and didn't do a good enough job to get the pucks behind them and try to work them.''

Gostisbehere said the Flyers had ''lost its identity'' in a dreadful March. Carter Hart, who had allowed 16 goals over a three-game losing streak, got the game off. Brian Elliott stopped 24 shots and the Flyers improved to 5-9-1 in March.

ON THE BENCH

Kris Knoblauch may have served as interim coach for the last last game with the Rangers with David Quinn set to return, possibly Sunday at Washington. Knoblauch has been sidelined because of COVID-19 protocols. Knoblauch is 4-2 with the Rangers.

''It's been a great ride for me, something that was definitely unexpected,'' Knoblauch said. ''It was nice being here in the NHL and having that experience. Great group of guys. This is the youngest team in the league and it's nice to see the possibilities of where this team is going.''

UP NEXT

The Rangers play Sunday in Washington.

Rangers Trade Brendan Lemieux to Los Angeles Kings for Fourth Round Draft Pick

Capitals hold on to beat Rangers for 10th win in 11 games

WASHINGTON (AP) Capitals players and coach Peter Laviolette sounded as if they'd lost after holding on to beat the New York Rangers 5-4 Sunday.

That's a good sign for the first-place team in the East Division after tying the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the NHL.

Washington has won 10 of 11 games to move two points up on the second-place New York Islanders and looks primed for another deep playoff run. Instead of celebrating two goals by Tom Wilson, the 724th of Alex Ovechkin's career or three points from T.J. Oshie, the Capitals lamented a sloppy third period that turned a blowout into a nail-biter.

This veteran team has grown to appreciate the value of piling up points and learning lessons along the way, and this game serves as another teachable moment after almost letting what should have been an easy victory slip away.

''If there's a trend, we want to address it,'' said Wilson, who has five points in four games since returning from a seven-game suspension. ''The whole season is definitely just to get ready for the meaningful hockey. You want to win games, you want to get there and you want to build your game and feel good about it going into the playoffs.''

The Capitals have been outscored 40-34 in third periods this season. They led 4-0 on Evgeny Kuznetsov's goal 5:15 into the third before a Rangers scoring flurry made things interesting.

Oshie's deflection goal with 8:14 left proved crucial, standing up as the game-winner. Colin Blackwell scored twice on his 28th birthday, No. 1 pick Alexis Lafreniere scored the fifth goal of his rookie season and Chris Kreider scored on the power play, cutting New York's deficit to one with 3:52 left.

Ilya Samsonov made a few final saves to give him 16 in his second consecutive victory. But the Capitals had to sweat it out.

''There's been times throughout the year where we've gotten ourselves in good positions going into the third and we maybe take our foot off the gas - not a lot, but just a little bit,'' said Oshie, who also had two assists. ''We didn't really stay on the attack, so that's definitely something that we've got to address going forward.''

The good news for the Capitals is they improved to 18-1-0 when leading at the second intermission. And their best players are producing: Ovechkin has 11 goals in 11 games and leads the team with 18; Kuznetsov has 12 points in 10 games and Jakub Vrana picked up his first point in five games.

Keith Kinkaid made 17 saves for the Rangers, who have lost back-to-back one-goal games after a three-game winning streak.

''Some bounces went their way,'' Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. ''We responded well in the third and came up just short, but obviously a good effort there to keep it going in the third.''

SAMSONOV AGAIN

Samsonov started two games in a row for the second time this season and first since March 11 and 13 against the Flyers. He had been rotating with Vitek Vanecek, who started all but one game while Samsonov was out with COVID-19, but Samsonov's 24-save shutout of New Jersey was enough to earn the nod in net again.

''His last game, he played really well,'' Laviolette said. ''He had a day off and a break, so it wasn't a stress situation for either goaltender. There's plenty of games coming up, so I wouldn't read too much into it.''

QUINN BACK

Rangers coach David Quinn was back behind the bench after missing the past six games while in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol.

''He definitely brought some energy today behind the bench,'' Blackwell said. ''When we got down, he was cheering everybody on, telling them that there's still plenty of time left.''

Quinn, who said he ''didn't get hit too bad by it'' and experienced only mild symptoms, spoke to Vegas coach Peter DeBoer about the predicament of missing games after testing positive for the virus. They agreed there was a silver lining to it.

''Me being away from the team was a little bit longer than his, so mine was probably a little bit more painful,'' Quinn said. ''You see things a little bit differently. I think you can give yourself a chance to do some self-evaluation. I think it was a good opportunity for me to kind of reset and watch things from a different light.''

Kris Knoblauch, who went 4-2 as acting coach, remained on the bench with assistant David Oliver still out.

ELLER STILL OUT

The Capitals played their seventh consecutive game without Lars Eller because of a lower-body injury and eighth of the past nine without their third-line center. Despite that lengthy absence, Laviolette isn't considering Eller out long term.

RANGERS LOGJAM

Phil Di Giuseppe entered the Rangers lineup after Brendan Lemieux was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday for a fourth-round pick. Quinn said a ''logjam'' of forwards precipitated the trade.

''It seemed like the right thing to do,'' Quinn said. ''It's going to give (Lemieux) an opportunity to maybe play in a little bit more of a role that he's looking for. He was a good player for us, and we're going to miss him.''

LAST IN D.C. WITHOUT FANS?

The Capitals played in front of empty stands for the 19th and perhaps final time at home this season. They're the last in the East Division - and one of just five U.S. teams - without fans or plans announced for their return at a limited capacity. Washington next plays at home April 8 against the Boston Bruins.

UP NEXT

These teams face off again Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, the opener of the Capitals' five-game road trip all in the New York area with games at the Rangers, Islanders and New Jersey Devils.

Panarin has goal, 2 assists as Rangers handle Caps 5-2

NEW YORK (AP) Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers scored five unanswered goals to beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 Tuesday night.

Kaapo Kakko, Adam Fox, Filip Chytil, and Pavel Buchnevich also scored for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves, improving to 3-0-0 in his career against Washington.

T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd scored for the Capitals, who lost for just the third time in their past 17 games. Two of those losses have come at the hands of the Rangers. Vitek Vanecek made 22 saves.

Oshie opened the scoring for the Capitals just 2:23 into the game after Kevin Rooney was sent to the penalty box for holding in the offensive zone. It was his second straight game with a goal, having also scored against the Rangers in Sunday's 5-4 victory.

Less than two minutes later, Garnet Hathaway crashed the Rangers net and amidst the scrum, Dowd jammed the puck into the net to make it 2-0. Six of Dowd's seven goals this season have come on the road.

''After the first two goals,'' Shesterkin said. ''I removed myself from that moment and continued to do my job, shot by shot, save by save.''

The Capitals dominated the early going, registering the game's first nine shots on goal before the Rangers had one at 8:33 into the first period.

Chytil cut New York's deficit to 2-1 with 4:24 left in the first. The 21-year-old stole the puck from Dmitry Orlov at the Rangers blue line and had a clean breakaway on net, beating Vanecek with a forehand.

''Chytil's goal really helped,'' Panarin said. ''It allowed us to wake up after the first period and we corrected ourselves.''

The Rangers had opportunities to tie the game before their rally in the third period. With Zdeno Chara in the box for slashing in the final minute of the first period, a shot from Panarin hit the crossbar and deflected downward but away from goal. Midway through the second period, Colin Blackwell was alone with the puck in front of Washington's net, but Vanecek made a point-blank save.

''There are always mistakes out on the ice,'' Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said, ''but when they lead to breakaways or guys point-blank in front of the net, those are the tough ones. I don't think that we've been guilty of a lot of those big mistakes lately, but tonight it caught us, and it was the difference in the game.''

New York broke through early in the third period. Kakko tied the game, before Fox gave the Rangers their first lead less than three minutes later. Fox extended his point streak to eight games. Panarin scored New York's fourth on a breakaway with 4:19 left, and Buchnevich added a late empty-net goal.

''This guy is an elite player in this league,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said of Fox. ''This guy's special. Not only the way he creates offense, but I think an underrated part of his game is how he defends and how he competes and how hockey tough he is. He's a huge, huge piece of the puzzle here.''

STROME'S STREAKS CONTINUE

With the primary assist on Kakko's goal, Ryan Strome extended his point streak to 10 games and his assist streak to nine games. With an assist in the next game, he'll tie Rod Gilbert's franchise record for consecutive games with an assist by a forward.

RANGERS HAVE EDGE IN SEASON SERIES

The Capitals fell to 2-4-0 against the Rangers this season. Of their seven opponents in the East Division, New York is the only team that the Capitals have a losing record against this season.

''Psychologically, you always know that you have to be ready 100% for that team,'' Panarin said of the Capitals. ''Obviously, you try to be ready 100% for every team, but human psychology is difficult. It's difficult to be ready for every team 100% but for that type of team, you're ready every time.''

POWER-PLAY WOES END

Oshie's power-play goal in the first period ended a drought for Washington. Not only were the Capitals scoreless on the man advantage over their past five games, going 0-for-12, but they also entered Tuesday 0-for-16 in five games against the Rangers this season.

ELLER RETURNS

Lars Eller returned to the Capitals' lineup after missing the past seven games with a lower-body injury. To make room in the lineup, Richard Panik was scratched for the first time this season.

RANGERS SIGN HUNTER

The Rangers signed defenseman Hunter Skinner to an entry-level contract on Monday. The 19-year-old was New York's fourth-round draft pick in 2019. He will join the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL for the remainder of the season.

UP NEXT

The Capitals visit the Islanders on Thursday.

The Rangers play Thursday and Saturday in Buffalo.

Rangers beat Sabres 3-2

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Mika Zibanejad one-timed in Artemi Panarin's pass 4:32 into overtime, and the New York Rangers overcame giving up a late goal in a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.

Filip Chytil and Colin Blackwell also scored and Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots in a game New York persevered after Buffalo's Tage Thompson forced overtime by scoring with 4 seconds left.

''Listen, it's a kick in the (rear) when you give up a goal with 3 (actually 4) seconds to go, and play the way we did for the second and third period. But I though we were able to pull ourselves together,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''But, listen, we found a way to win and get two points, which really at the end of the day when you're this deep into the season is all that matters.''

The Rangers won for the fifth time in seven outings, and improved to 7-3-1 in their past 11 since ending a three-game skid. New York moved into a tie for fifth place in the East Division with the slumping Philadelphia Flyers, who are off until Saturday, and coming off a 6-1 loss at Buffalo on Wednesday night.

New York also moved to within three points of fourth-place Boston after the Bruins lost to the Penguins on Thursday.

The Sabres are now 1-0-1 after beating the Flyers to snap Buffalo's 0-15-3 skid which ranked as the NHL's 14th-longest winless streak.

Though Buffalo opened the scoring on Rasmus Asplund's goal 2:06 in, the team appeared to run out of steam in playing on consecutive nights. The Sabres were outshot 47-23 overall and 36-11 after the first period.

Buffalo still had enough resolve with Thompson scoring through a crowd from the left circle and with the Sabres' net empty for an extra attacker.

''Fatigue is a factor certainly when you play back-to-back and the other team didn't. I mean, there's not a way around it,'' Sabres interim coach Don Granato said. ''But I thought our guys elevated tremendously in the last few minutes to get that goal.''

Backup Dustin Tokarski stopped 44 shots in having his record drop to 0-3-1 this season.

The teams complete a two-game series at Buffalo on Saturday night.

The decisive goal came on a 2-on-1 break with Panarin driving up the right wing. He fed a pass across to Zibanejad, who blasted in a shot from the left circle.

Chytil put the Rangers up 2-1 during a scramble to the right of the net at 6:17 of the third. He flipped a shot over Tokarski, who was attempting to smother the puck before New York's Julien Gauthier dug it loose.

While Tokarski was impressed with how Buffalo rallied to force overtime, Thompson felt the team let down their goalie.

''It would have felt a lot better to get the win. He deserved that one big time,'' Thompson said.

The Sabres failed to win consecutive games for just the second time this season, and yet continue to show signs of improvement since Granato took over after Ralph Krueger was fired on March 17.

Asplund's goal marked the fourth consecutive game Buffalo has scored first after doing so only nine previous times this season.

MILESTONES

Panarin had two assists to give him 88 in 94 games with the Rangers. He moved ahead of Wayne Gretzky, who had 86 assist through his first 100 games in New York. Mark Messier's 92 assists through 100 games tops the Blueshirts' list.

Ryan Strome had an assist to extend his point streak to 11 games, in which he has two goals and 14 assists. Strome also has assists in 10 straight games, matching New York's second longest streak set by Rod Gilbert in 1968-69. Brian Leetch holds the team record with assists in 15 straight in 1991-92.

''Honestly, don't try to think about it too much,'' Strome said of his assist streak. ''To be in that company is a nice honor, but this time of the year, even though it's a cliche, just finding ways to get wins is important.''

BACK ON TEXTING TERMS

Granato joked things were becoming so difficult during the Sabres' skid, family and friends were no longer texting him after losses. Even his dad.

That changed after Granato checked his phone following the win.

''The thing lit up pretty good,'' he said. ''I'd wondered if people were watching or stopped watching, but apparently they didn't.''

ROSTER UPDATES

Rangers: Center Brett Howden is on the verge of being cleared from the NHL's COVID-19 protocol, after spending his 11th day on the list. Quinn could not provide a timetable for Howden's return, except to say he won't rejoin the team until the Rangers return to New York after playing at Buffalo on Saturday.

Sabres: Center Curtis Lazar is listed week to week with a lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday. Asplund played his first game after missing four with an upper-body injury.

Olofsson ties it late, Sabres top Rangers 3-2 in shootout

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Victor Olofsson tied the game at 16:19 of the third period and Tage Thompson scored the only goal in a shootout to give the Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 comeback victory against the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

Thompson beat Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin with a low snap shot in the second round of the tiebreaker. Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark denied Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko.

''I think he's probably one of the best goalies in the world,'' Olofsson said about Ullmark. ''He's so patient. ... It's really hard to figure him out. We feel really confident with him on the penalty shots, for sure.''

Casey Mittelstadt also scored for the Sabres, and Ullmark made 28 saves in improving to 7-5-3 this season. Buffalo extended its point streak to four games and is 2-0-1 beginning with a victory over Philadelphia that snapped the club's 0-15-3 skid.

The latest victory came in the Sabres' first home game with fans in the stands this year.

''I think during the game sometimes you tune them out, but it's been so long that even with that little amount you can hear them,'' Mittelstadt said. ''I think especially after the game on a good comeback win, you take a look up and see people. Obviously we miss them and I've heard this rink be really, really loud a few times so we definitely miss them.''

Buffalo was nearly down 3-1 through two periods after Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba fired a shot past Ullmark at the end of the second, but video review confirmed the puck crossed the goal line after time expired. For what was once a fragile team under Ralph Krueger, the Sabres have shown more nerve recently under interim coach Don Granato.

''I wasn't concerned about our guys psychologically at all. I was concerned about the score and being down to the degree that you can be concerned about that,'' Granato said. ''But I felt our guys were executing what they should be executing. They were immersed in the moment. They weren't riding the emotions that you could ride with what transpired through two periods. They really knew they were playing well and they knew they could elevate. So, all I mentioned to them was, `You've got another level, you know it, and let's find it and let's enjoy it. Let's embrace this. This is fun.'''

Panarin scored both New York goals, giving him 11 on the season, and Shesterkin finished with 27 saves. The Rangers remained tied for fifth place in the East with the Flyers, four points behind Boston for the division's final playoff spot.

''I just think we didn't force enough turnovers,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''I didn't think we were on top of them the way we need to be. I thought our breakouts really hurt us. I don't think we came out of our zone clean at all, so that's something we're going to have to adjust moving forward.''

New York defenseman Adam Fox assisted on both of Panarin's goals and extended his point streak to 10 games.

''I thought at the beginning of the year the points weren't really coming but I was playing well,'' Fox said. ''Now they come -- and sometimes in bunches -- and that's kind of what's happening.''

Olofsson tied it with a pinpoint shot from the high slot that beat Shesterkin to his glove side.

It was Thompson who scored the tying goal with 4 seconds left in regulation Thursday night before the Sabres lost to the Rangers 3-2 in overtime.

CHART CLIMBER

Panarin upped his total to 131 points in 95 games with the Rangers, passing Mike Rogers for third-most in a player's first 100 games with the franchise. Panarin is two behind Jaromir Jagr for second place and six back of Mark Messier.

ROSTER MOVES

Rangers: New winger Vitali Kravtsov was recalled from the taxi squad and made his NHL debut. The 2018 first-round draft pick (ninth overall) had been with Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia. ''I thought he played well. I thought he was engaged, I thought he played with pace,'' Quinn said.

Sabres: F C.J. Smith and D Brandon Davidson were reassigned from Rochester of the AHL to the taxi squad.

WHAT'S NEXT

Rangers: Open a two-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.

Sabres: At the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night in the first part of a home-and-home set.

Rangers blast Penguins 8-4 with goals from 8 players

NEW YORK (AP) Artemi Panarin had a goal and three assists, Adam Fox had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 8-4 on Tuesday night.

Colin Blackwell, Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Strome, Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Pavel Buchnevich also scored for New York, which extended its point streak to four games (3-0-1). It was the first time in 11 years that eight Rangers scored in a game.

Igor Shesterkin made 42 saves in his fourth consecutive start.

''We've got a great group of guys in there,'' Fox said. ''We have a pretty young team and a hungry team. We only have so many games left and we're trying to make a push for the playoffs. Everyone in there is hungry. This is the fun part of the year. Every point matters.''

Jared McCann, Mike Matheson, Jake Guentzel and Brian Dumoulin scored for Pittsburgh, which lost for the second time in seven games. Tristan Jarry allowed four goals on eleven shots before being replaced by Casey DeSmith. Defenseman Kris Letang chipped in with two assists.

The Rangers stormed out of the gates and led 3-0 midway through the first period.

Blackwell opened the scoring with his 10th of the season after his pass attempt deflected off a Penguins defender and surprised Jarry at 1:35. Blackwell became the sixth New York player to score 10 or more goals this season.

Zibanejad doubled the Rangers' advantage at 7:28. He intercepted a pass in the defensive zone and then buried a rebound.

''It just looks like we are kind of lost,'' McCann said. ''We are giving up chances we are not normally used to giving up. We are letting our goalies down right now and giving teams back-door tap-ins and shots from high-grade areas. We need to tighten it up.''

Panarin's snipe from the left faceoff circle increased the Rangers' edge to three at 9:58. Fox assisted and became the first Rangers defenseman to record 30 or more assists in each of his first two NHL seasons. The 23-year-old also extended his point streak to 11 games.

Strome capped off New York's four-goal first period with a power-play goal in the final minute. Panarin picked up the primary assist and recorded a three-point game for the sixth time this season.

''It was something we talked about, not backing off and stopping,'' Zibanejad said. ''It's a good team we're playing against. That was a big goal, especially that late in the first and to be able to go into the second with a three-goal lead. The power play was clicking tonight from both units so that was huge.''

McCann's blast from the left point pulled the Penguins within two goals at 10:38 of the first. Letang and Sidney Crosby assisted on the power-play goal.

Pittsburgh outshot New York 18-11 in the period despite trailing 4-1 at the end of 20 minutes.

Lafreniere, the first overall selection of last year's draft, netted his sixth of the season at 12:20 of the second.

''I thought that goal they scored in the second was big,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said of Lafreniere, Kakko and Filip Chytil. ''I thought they did a really good job of getting above the puck and I thought they made smart decisions. They were patient offensively, which we didn't have a lot of tonight. It was good to see them get rewarded going about it that way. Those guys are starting to play well and it was good to see them get rewarded.''

Matheson registered his fourth of the season 16 seconds later. The defenseman fired a shot past the glove of Shesterkin from the left faceoff circle.

Kakko deflected Trouba's shot at 6:10 of the third period to give the Rangers a 6-2 lead. New York converted all three power-play opportunities.

Guentzel hammered a one-time blast to cut the Penguins' deficit to three goals at 8:04 of the third period.

Fox and Buchnevich scored within 19 seconds of each other midway through the third period to put the game out of reach. Zibanejad forced a turnover and found Fox all alone in the slot for a short-handed goal. Buchnevich then buried a cross-ice feed from Chytil.

''We got to find a way to get back to some of the details that are necessary to give ourselves the best chance to win,'' Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. ''The quality of chances we gave up are not conducive to winning games consistently.''

Dumoulin scored his first of the season at 18:36 of the third.

TEAM EFFORT

The last time eight Rangers scored in a game was Jan. 19, 2010, against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was the third time this season the Rangers scored eight or more goals.

POWER-PLAY STREAKS

Fox is the second Rangers player and first defenseman to tally a point on 11 consecutive power-play goals scored by the team since the statistic was tracked in 1933-34. The only other player was Red Sullivan in the 1958-59 season. The streak was snapped when Kakko scored on the man advantage in the third period.

DEFENSIVE LAPSES

The Penguins have allowed 15 goals over their last two games.

UP NEXT

The teams meet again on Thursday night.

Letang, Rodrigues lead Penguins to 5-2 win over Rangers

NEW YORK (AP) Kris Letang and Evan Rodrigues scored in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-2 Thursday night.

Radim Zohorna and Jason Zucker each added a goal and an assist, Mark Jankowski also scored, and Letang and Rodrigues also each had an assist. Tristan Jarry stopped 22 shots to help Pittsburgh snap a two-game skid.

The Penguins had given up 15 goals in the two losses - 7-5 at Boston last Saturday and 8-4 here to the Rangers on Tuesday night.

''We knew we had to turn the page quick,'' Letang said. ''We know going forward if we want to have success we need to play a good defensive game with the five-man unit out there. I think we tightened up today and we got the result.''

The Penguins beat the Rangers for the sixth time in eight games this season. Pittsburgh pulled two points behind second-place Washington in the East Division.

''It was an important win for us,'' Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. ''This is something we can build off of.''

Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney scored for the Rangers, who were 3-0-1 in their last four. Igor Shesterkin, starting for the fifth straight game, made 27 saves.

''They were just on top of us all game,'' New York defenseman Adam Fox said. ''They did a good job forechecking and hemming us in our zone a little bit. ... They came out a little faster and it was obviously a tough one for us.''

Zucker scored on a backhander with 9:31 left in the third for is sixth to give the Penguins a 4-1 lead.

Rooney pulled the Rangers within two with 6:12 left. Fox drew Jarry out to the goalie's left as he skated past the goal line and sent a pass back in front and Rooney scored into the open goal.

The Rangers pulled Shesterkin for an extra skater with a little more than 2 1/2 minutes left, but Jankowski sealed it with an empty-netter a minute later to seal it.

''We've got to find that balance of being effective offensively and playing the right way,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''I certainly knew what was in store for us tonight. We weren't able to be consistent enough throughout the game.''

Blackwell tied it at 1 at 2:02 of the second. With the Rangers on their second power play of the game, Pavel Buchnevich sent a pass from the bottom of the right circle in front to Blackwell, who quickly beat Jarry for his 11th.

Letang put the Penguins back in front 1:21 later as his pass toward the front of the net for Bryan Rust, deflected off Chris Kreider's stick and through defenseman Ryan Lindgren's legs and past Shesterkin. It was Letang's seventh.

''I really calculated everything and I wanted it to hit that skate,'' Letang joked. ''No, I tried to pass it to Rusty and got a fortunate bounce.''

On the Penguins' second power play of the game, Zohorna sent a pass from near the goal line on the left side in front to Rodrigues, who beat Shesterkin with 8:32 left for his fifth to make it 3-1.

Kreider had a penalty shot with 2:01 left in the middle period after he was taken down by Cody Ceci on a breakaway, but Jarry denied his attempt.

The Penguins came out aggressive and outshot the Rangers 13-5 in the first period, including 9-2 over the first 5 1/2 minutes. Pittsburgh then broke though on its 10th attempt.

Off a long pass from Marcus Pettersson, Zohorna skated up the right side, cut in front of the goal and beat Shesterkin from the left side at 6:26 for his second goal in four games this season.

''We've really liked what we've seen from Z from the minute he's been in training camp,'' Sullivan said. ''We've been really intrigued by his game. We think he has got good hockey sense, he's got good offensive instincts.''

RANGERS GET VACCINATED

The Rangers were able to get COVID vaccines on Wednesday, and most of the players got their shots.

''We're very fortunate to be able to get that vaccine,'' defenseman Jacob Trouba said. ''It's obviously been a crazy time. ... Hopefully we can in the near future move on to a little more of normal life.''

PENGUINS INJURIES

D John Marino was back in the Penguins' lineup after leaving Tuesday's game in the third period with an undisclosed injury. He missed practice Wednesday, but took part in the optional morning skate Thursday.

The Penguins continue to be without injured forwards Teddy Blueger, Evgeni Malkin, Kasperi Kapanen and Brandon Tanev. Sullivan said F Anthony Angelo remained on the taxi squad because he did not accompany the team to New York for the four games against the Rangers and New Jersey Devils due to an upper body injury.

STREAKS

Penguins F Jake Guentzel had an assist on Letang's second-period goal to give him three assists and six points in a four-game point streak. ... Fox's assist on Rooney's goal extended his point streak to 12 games. He has 19 goals and 22 points in the stretch. ... Rangers F Artemi Panarin ended a four-game point streak in which he had four goals and seven assists.

UP NEXT

Penguins: At New Jersey on Saturday night to open a two-game series.

Rangers: At the New York Islanders on Friday night to open a two-game series.

Georgiev stops 31 shots, Rangers beat Islanders 4-1

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) Alexandar Georgiev made 31 saves in his first start since March 19, Alexis Lafreniere and Colin Blackwell scored in the second period, and the New York Rangers beat the Islanders 4-1 on Friday night.

Mika Zibanejad and K'Andre Miller also scored and Artemi Panarin had two assists for the Rangers, who have won four of six (4-1-1).

Georgiev improved to 7-1-0 in eight starts against the Islanders. He has allowed two goals or fewer in seven of nine career appearances against the Islanders, including one goal or fewer five times. Since his first start against the Islanders on Nov. 21, 2018, Georgiev has more wins against the Islanders than any other NHL goaltender.

The Rangers had started Ilya Shesterkin and backup Keith Kinkaid in recent weeks. Georgiev was relieved to forge a victory in his return, improving to 6-5-2 on the season.

''I think it was maybe a little bit easier even, I haven't played for a while, and I just came right into the game,? the 25-year-old netminder said about playing after his lengthy layoff. ''I was confident coming into it and just did my job.''

Andy Greene scored and Semyon Varlamov finished with 32 saves as the Islanders snapped a five-game winning streak and fell to 17-2-2 at home.

The teams meet again on Sunday night at Nassau Coliseum.

The Islanders are tied with the Washington Capitals with 56 points atop the East Division with 15 games remaining for each team.

''It's part of this long season. You're not going to be at your best every night,'' Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. ''Pucks didn't go in for us tonight.''

The Rangers were coming off a dreary 5-2 home loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

''We just looked like a different team. I thought it was a true team effort from our goalie to our `D' to our forwards,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''Everyone did what they needed to do. It was a huge win for us.''

The Rangers trail Boston by five points for the final playoff spot but the Bruins have three games in hand.

The teams played a brisk first period featuring strong saves at both ends. The Rangers held a 13-7 shots advantage over the first 20 minutes. Varlamov stopped Ryan Strome on the Rangers' best chance six minutes into the game after Strome accepted a pass from Panarin but was denied by a sliding Varlamov save.

Zibanejad had a golden opportunity, springing into the Islander zone on a breakaway after leaving the penalty box. But he lost control on the puck with no Islander in sight and failed to get off a shot.

Lafreniere finally opened the scoring with his seventh goal, tapping the puck past Varlamov at 6:05 of the second. Linemates Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil drew assists. All three forwards - starting with the 19-year-old Lafreniere who was the first overall pick in last year's draft - are 21 years old or younger.

Lafreneiere's goal ended Varlamov's shutout streak against the Rangers this season at 146:05. Varlamov registered shutouts in two of the team's three meetings earlier this season at Madison Square Garden. Georgiev blanked the Islanders in the other game.

Blackwell made it 2-0 with his 12th goal at 10:01 of the second. Blackwell scored his sixth goal in the last seven games. The 28-year-old Blackwell, who played four years at Harvard and was a seventh-round draft pick by San Jose in 2011, had three goals in 33 NHL games with Nashville before this season. He signed a two-year contract with the Rangers in October.

''It comes with opportunity and you have to make the most of it,'' Blackwell said of his recent scoring prowess. ''I'm trying to keep it pretty simple, doing the right thing and creating your own puck luck. It's the way I play.''

Greene narrowed the deficit to 2-1 with his first goal his season at 14:53 of the second. The defenseman's slap shot from the point appeared to be deflected by a Rangers player before it eluded Georgiev.

Miller scored an insurance goal at 11:48 of the third, the rookie defenseman's fourth goal of the season.

Zibanejad added an empty netter - his 14th - to complete the scoring at 18:48.

The Islanders fell to 21-3-3 in back-ends of back-to-back games, still the best record of any NHL team in back-ends over the past three seasons.

KINGS OF THE COLISEUM

The Rangers have won their last five games at Nassau Coliseum dating back to Feb. 16, 2015 and eight of nine overall on Long Island. The Rangers are 17-5-1 in their last 23 games at Nassau Coliseum, though they were 1-6-1 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in recent years.

VERY YOUNG RANGERS

The Rangers are the youngest team in the league, with 10 of the 22 players on their active roster 23 years old or younger. Average age on the Rangers' active roster is 25.2 years old.

STREAKING FOX

Rangers defenseman Adam Fox snapped a 12-game point streak in which he had three goals and 19 assists. It was the third-longest point streak in the NHL this season behind Carolina's Dougie Hamilton at 14 games and Toronto's Auston Matthews at 13.

Ryan Pulock scores in OT, Islanders beat Rangers 3-2

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) Ryan Pulock scored 1:13 into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Rangers 3-2 on Sunday night.

Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored in the first period for the Islanders, who have won eight of 11 and are 18-2-2 at home. Mathew Barzal had two assists.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 24 shots to improve to 11-3-1 this season. He moved to 8-0 at home, becoming the second rookie in last 39 years to win eight straight at home - joining teammate Semyon Varlamov, who did it 2009-10 for Washington.

The Islanders recovered after giving up their early lead and kept pace with Washington atop the East Division, two points ahead of third-place Pittsburgh. All three teams have 14 games remaining.

''I thought we stuck with it, we did what we had to do,'' Pulock said. ''At the end of the day, we got two points. That's what we're here for.''

Libor Hajek and Brendan Smith scored in the second period for the Rangers, who are 4-1-2 in their last seven games. Igor Shesterkin finished with 29 saves - including 15 in the first period.

The Rangers pulled four points behind Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East. The Bruins also have two games in hand.

''Every point counts,'' Smith said. ''Yeah, we want two, obviously. ... If we can keep playing this way, keep getting those points and slide in I think we can be a team that can do damage.''

It was a big bounce-back win for the Islanders, who lost 4-1 here to the Rangers on Friday night and finished 5-1 on a six-game homestand.

''It felt good, obviously beating the Rangers is a big thing and winning games at home is huge especially this time of year,'' Palmieri said. ''The team found a way to get it done tonight and that's all you could ask for.''

In the extra period, Pulock got a pass from Barzal and beat Shesterkin from the right side on the blocker side for his first goal since March 7, 2020.

''That one feels good,'' Pulock said. ''It's been a stretch, but obviously found one in a key moment and found a way to win a game.''

Seconds earlier, Shesterkin had made a sliding save going to his right on an attempt by Travis Zajac, resulting in a faceoff in the left circle.

Both teams had chances late in regulation. Kevin Rooney fired a shot off Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield's skate and the crossbar with about 3 minutes left. The Islanders had a chance on the other end, but Shesterkin denied Andy Greene's attempt 45 seconds later.

Trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes, the Rangers came out aggressive in the second and had several scoring chances while outshooting the Islanders 9-2 over the first 13 minutes of the period.

Hajek pulled the Rangers to 2-1 as his shot from the point got through traffic and beat Sorokin for his second with 9:37 left in the middle period.

Smith tied it less than two minutes later as he pounced on a loose puck in the middle and fired a shot that beat Sorokin high for his third with 7:44 left. Rookie right wing Vitali Kravtsov got his first NHL point on the play in his fifth game.

''We knew they were going to have a push,'' Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. ''Coming out of our end we didn't execute. We lost few more battles and we got beat to the net a few times. ... It killed all our speed, it killed all our ability to do what we do.''

The Islanders outshot the Rangers 17-8 in the first period, scoring early and late to take a 2-0 lead.

Palmieri got the Islanders on the scoreboard with his first goal since being acquired from New Jersey last Wednesday. On a power play, Josh Bailey's shot from the right point was deflected by Brock Nelson to Palmieri, who put it in from the left side for his ninth of the season at 1:47.

Pageau doubled the Islanders' lead in the closing seconds of period. Mathew Barzal brought the puck up the ice, passed to Jordan Eberle on the right side. Eberle passed it across to Pageau, who fired one-timer past Shesterkin on the glove side with 8 seconds remaining for his 12th.

''Not the start we wanted,'' Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba said. ''We came out and played better in the second and third (periods). Good sign to battle back, yet couldn't find the last goal.''

PENALTIES

Two nights after the Rangers' Mika Zibanejad was whistled for the game's only penalty, each team was called for three. The Islanders went 1 for 3 on the power play, and the Rangers were 0 for 3.

ISLANDERS TRADE

The Islanders acquired 2020 Stanley Cup-winning D Braydon Coburn from Ottawa for a 2022 seventh-round pick. The 36-year-old has two points in 16 games with the Senators this season.

In other roster moves Sunday, the Islanders placed F Ross Johnston on IR and moved F Oliver Wahlstrom from the taxi squad to the roster. Wahlstrom replaced Leo Komarov in the active lineup.

SPECIAL DATE

On this date in 1975, the Islanders beat the Rangers on J.P. Parise's goal 11 seconds into overtime at Madison Square Garden to win a three-game opening-round playoff series. It gave the Islanders, in their third season, their first postseason series win in franchise history.

UP NEXT

Rangers: At New Jersey on Tuesday to open a stretch of four games in six days against the Devils.

Shesterkin gets first NHL shutout, Rangers beat Devils 3-0

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves for his first NHL shutout and the New York Rangers opened a four-game series against the rival New Jersey Devils with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night.

Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin scored and Adam Fox had assists on both goals as New York improved to 10-4-3 since March 13. Pavel Buchnevich scored into an empty net with 28 seconds to play for the 20,000th goal in Rangers' franchise history.

''It was a big game. we still have meaningful games to play here and we want to continue to play those games,'' Zibanejad said of the Rangers' playoff hopes. ''Great opportunity today and I thought Igor played great, kept us in the game, and we found a way to come out in the third and play a lot better and got the win.''

Mackenzie Blackwood had 17 saves as the young Devils fell to 2-7-2 in their last 11. Even the return of captain Nico Hischier from a broken nose that had sidelined him since Feb. 27 didn't help.

The 25-year-old Shesterkin was on his game from the start, stopping a breakaway by Jesper Bratt in the opening 10 seconds and another by Devils top goal-scorer Miles Wood in the second period.

After the game was over, Shesterkin looked up to rafters at the Prudential Center in relief.

''It obviously means a lot,'' he said through a translator of the shutout. ''And I want to thank all the players who played in front of me and blocked shots, all game, especially at the end when it was so meaningful to me to get this win and the shutout, and they did it for me and I'm thankful.''

Zibanejad, who has 12 goals in his last 15 games scored on a breakaway at 7:02 of a wide-open first period. The speedy center took a pass in center-ice, blew past the defense and beat Blackwood with a forehand over his glove hand.

After a very defensive middle period, Panarin gave the Rangers breathing room at 7:50 of the third with a goal from the left circle off a nice cross-ice pass by Filip Chytil.

Panarin's goal came in his 100th game with the Rangers. It also gave him 138 points in those games, breaking the 100-game mark of 137 set by Mark Messier.

''He's a special player,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''Everybody watched it and at key times, he makes key plays. There are not a lot of players in this league that can do what he does.''

The teams will play again on Thursday and Saturday in New York and return to New Jersey on Sunday for the final game of their eight-game regular-season series. The Rangers lead the series 3-2, having won the last three in New Jersey.

''If you don't score goals, you can't win a game,'' Hischier said. ''We got into our heads during a game. We had some opportunities and goalie played well. But at the end of the day we got to get guys there and we've got to get pucks there and try to get one of those dirty goals. We were close a couple of times. Obviously, it's frustrating to not get one in.''

SIEGENTHALER'S DEBUT

Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler made his debut for the Devils. He was acquired on Sunday in a deal with Washington. The Swiss native was paired with Will Butcher and played 15:45.

RANGERS SIGNING

Just days after helping the University of Massachusetts win the national championship, defenseman Zac Jones signed an entry-level contract with the Rangers. The 20-year-old had nine goals and 15 assists in 29 games.

Rangers coach David Quinn said Jones drove to New York and will skate with the team until ready to play.

NOTES: It didn't take long for the emotions to surface. Chris Kreider of the Rangers and Damon Severson of the Devils got fighting majors at 1:27. ... Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith and Devils center Michael McLeod got five for fighting in the second period. ... The Rangers did not have a power play. ... Hischier wore a cage to protect his surgically repaired nose.

Panarin, Shesterkin lead Rangers to 4-0 win over Devils

NEW YORK (AP) Artemi Panarin had two goals and an assist, Igor Shesterkin got his second straight shutout, and the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 4-0 Thursday night.

Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren also scored to help New York win for the sixth time in nine games (6-1-2). Colin Blackwell had a career-high three assists and Ryan Strome added two.

''Igor's been great for us,'' Blackwell said. ''He really kept us in that game. They had a couple of chances, a couple of flurries where they kind of pressed the ice toward us and he made some big saves.''

Shesterkin finished with 16 saves for his second NHL shutout - and second in three days against the Devils. He had 27 saves in a 3-0 win at New Jersey on Tuesday night. In this one, he had to make three saves in the first, nine in the second and four in the third. The Rangers also blocked 20 shots in front of him.

''Indeed there was not much work in this one,'' Shesterkin said through a translator. ''Guys did a great job, they blocked a lot of shots. I was facing some easier shots and the fans really helped a lot. That's how I kept the concentration.''

The Rangers remained four points behind Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division after the Bruins beat the New York Islanders 4-1.

Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 29 saves while taking a regulation loss for his fifth straight start. The Devils have now lost four straight and eight of nine (1-6-2).

''We gave up chances we don't normally give up,'' Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. ''We didn't have nearly the energy we had the other night. ... It's a game that was pretty disappointing for us.''

The teams continue their four-game series Saturday back at Madison Square Garden, and Sunday in New Jersey.

The Rangers got off to fast start, scoring three times in the first period.

Trouba got the Rangers on the scoreboard 47 seconds into the game as he took a pass from Blackwell and beat Blackwood from the right circle for his second of the season.

Lindgren made it 2-0 at 6:39 with his first goal of the season as he got a pass from Panarin and beat Blackwood from between the circles inside the right post..

Panarin scored on a one-timer from the top of the right circle off a pass from Ryan Strome on a 2-on-1 rush to made it 3-0 with 8 minutes left in the first.

''It's nice to dominate a game,'' Panarin said through a translator. ''We obviously caught our game, but it was not ideal. We have some details to work on and improve for very serious games coming up.''

When asked to elaborate on what he felt they needed to improve, Panarin added: ''Fewer giveaways on the blue line ... so we have to tighten that up and play a little better defensively and approach the next few games very seriously.''

Hughes had a chance off a Rangers turnover, but Shesterkin denied his attempt in close about 5 minutes into the second.

Panarin got his second of the night to push the Rangers' lead to 4-0 with 7:09 left in the middle period. Blackwell brought the puck up the right side and fired a shot that went of the end boards and the side of the goal. The puck came out to the right side, where Strome swooped in and passed it over to Panarin, who quickly put it past Blackwood for his 15th of the season.

P.K. Subban hit a goalpost for New Jersey with about 5 minutes left in the second.

''We were fortunate with our opportunities early,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''We might have had three or four scoring chances early and we capitalized on all three of them, which really can change the complexion of the game. I thought the second period we got away with some stuff, our goalie had to make some big saves. ... We know we've got to be better.''

BLACKWOOD STRUGGLING

Blackwood is now 0-5-2 with a 3.71 goals-against average in seven starts since getting the win in a shutout at Boston on March 28. That victory ended a stretch of three wins in four starts.

MIKA MAGIC

Zibanejad had an assist on Trouba's early goal, extending his point streak to four games. He has 15 assists and 27 points in his last 18 games.

KRAVTSOV'S FIRST ... ALMOST

Rangers rookie Vitali Kravtsov appeared to get his first NHL goal just past the midpoint of the third period, converting a nice, cross-ice pass from Pavel Buchnevich on a Rangers rush. However, the goal was disallowed after Ruff challenged the play for offside.

JONES ON ICE

Zac Jones, the defenseman who helped UMass win the national championship earlier this month, has been skating with the Rangers just days after signing his entry-level contract.

Quinn said he has liked what he has seen from the 20-year-old, but was unsure when he'd put him in the lineup.

''You've got a guy who can really skate, he's got a great hockey I.Q., just competes,'' Quinn said. ''But this is the National Hockey League and you don't just take a someone and drop him in the lineup. They've got to earn it and they've got to give you reason to put him. ... We certainly won't hesitate from putting him in if we think he'll help us win.''

Buchnevich gets 3; Rangers beat NJ for 3rd time in 5 days

NEW YORK (AP) Pavel Buchnevich gave himself a birthday present and the New York Rangers another much-needed win in their pursuit of the playoffs.

Buchnevich scored his first career hat trick and the streaking Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 6-3 on Saturday for their third win over their Hudson River rivals in five days.

''Obviously he is a very good player with very big hockey IQ,'' said teammate Artemi Panarin, who had a goal and three assists. ''I want to wish him a happy birthday, especially he scores a hat trick. He played a huge role in this team defensively, penalty killing, offensively. He is a very important member of this team.''

The 26-year-old Buchnevich has taken major strides in his fifth season. His 19 goals lead the team despite not being on the No. 1 power play unit. He is also killing penalties this season.

''I guess I understand my body better,'' Buchnevich said. ''I think for every player, it's tough for a young player to start picking it up right away. Hopefully I keep going and play a better 200-foot game.''

Ryan Strome had a goal and an assist in a three-goal first-period outburst as the Rangers improved to 12-4-3 in their last 19 games.

''It's really good to see that we've put ourselves in this position to be playing meaningful hockey, be four points out of a playoff spot with 12 games to go,'' Rangers coach Dave Quinn said. ''I mean, anything could happen moving forward here.''

With rookie goaltender Igor Shesterkin going for his third straight shutout, the Rangers took a nap after taking a 4-0 lead.

Michael McLeod broke Shesterkin'a shutout streak at 152 minutes, 37 seconds when he scored in close in the second period. New Jersey then got within 4-3 when P.K. Subban and Yegor Sharangovich scored in a 64-second span in the third period with the teams playing 4-on-4 hockey.

It forced Quinn to take a timeout, and got the Rangers refocused.

After killing off a power play, Buchnevich and Chris Kreider added late empty-net goals to seal the win.

''We created enough opportunities to easily get back in the game,'' Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. ''I thought we had him on the ropes in the third. And even after the timeout we were still coming at him. We had some opportunities, but we didn't capitalize.''

The victory extended the Rangers' point streak to a season-high five games (4-0-1) and pulled them within four points of idle Boston in the race for the last playoff berth in the East. The Bruins have 14 left.

Shesterkin finished with 30 saves. Aaron Dell had 24 saves for the Devils, who have lost five straight and are 1-7-2 in their last 10.

Buchnevich ignited and capped the three-goal opening period. He finished off an odd-man rush with Mika Zibanejad, who had three assists, with a shot into an open net at 7:26. The next two goals came on the power play after Damon Severson was called for holding and New Jersey was called for too many men on the penalty kill. Strome scored from a bad angle on the 5-on-3 segment, and Buchnevich got his second, roofing a shot from between the circles.

Panarin, who now has 301 career assists, made it 4-0 early in the second period on a shot off Dell's glove.

Then the Devils' comeback came up just short.

The teams will end the four-game series in New Jersey on Sunday and meet for the final time in the regular season. New York has won the last five and leads the series 5-2.

NOTEBOOK: Rangers have three or more goals in 11 of the last 15 games and in 14 of the last 19. ... Devils played without top scorers Pavel Zacha and Jesper Bratt, who are out with lower body injuries ... New Jersey D Matt Tennyson played for first time since Feb. 16. while F Nate Bastian returned after missing 15 games with an injury. ... Dell was making his first start since April 8. ... Shesterkin had a shutout streak of 199.33 against the Devils, the longest by a Rangers goaltender against one opponent in franchise history. It broke the old mark set by Dave Kerr (198:07 against the Montreal Canadiens during the 1939-40 season).