NEW YORK (Interstat) — Josh Doan scored and Colten Ellis made 30 saves in his first start in a month as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the New York Rangers 5-2 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Sabres have now won 12 of their past 13 games. Doan opened the scoring in the first period. After Alex Tuch and Jason Zucker extended the lead, the Rangers answered with goals from Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. Buffalo sealed the win with third-period goals from Mattias Samuelsson and Ryan McLeod. The victory, before an announced crowd of 18,006, moved Buffalo into the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot. The Rangers have lost two straight.

NEW YORK (Interstat) — Josh Doan scored, Colten Ellis made 30 saves in his first game in a month and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden to extend their surge to 12 victories in their past 13 games. The Sabres, who last achieved such a run from Nov. 23 to Dec. 19, 2005, moved into the second Eastern Conference wild-card slot with the win, their 43rd of the season. This marks the latest point in a season the franchise has held a playoff position since Feb. 24, 2023. A crowd of 18,006 watched as the Sabres improved to 23-19, while the Rangers fell to 20-25. Ellis, returning from injury, was sharp throughout, turning aside all 12 shots he faced in a first period controlled by Buffalo. The Sabres opened the scoring at 4:07 of the first when Doan collected his 14th goal of the season, finishing a play set up by Mattias Samuelsson and Jason Zucker. Buffalo extended its lead in the second period. Alex Tuch made it 2-0 at 12:58, converting a feed from Bowen Byram for his 14th goal. The Rangers cut the deficit just over five minutes later on a Mika Zibanejad power-play slap shot, his 16th, assisted by Artemi Panarin. The Sabres responded before the period ended. On a power play of their own, Jason Zucker deflected a Rasmus Dahlin point shot past Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick with 35.4 seconds remaining. Tage Thompson earned the secondary assist on Zucker’s 10th goal, restoring Buffalo’s two-goal cushion heading into the third. New York attempted a push early in the final frame. Just 51 seconds in, Vincent Trocheck took a pass from J.T. Miller and beat Ellis for his 11th, bringing the Rangers within 3-2. Buffalo’s defense and Ellis held firm from there, weathering pressure before putting the game away late. With Peyton Krebs serving a double-minor for high-sticking, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson surprised the Rangers with a shorthanded goal at 17:22 of the third, sniping a wrist shot for his seventh of the year, assisted by Ryan McLeod. McLeod then sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 18:30, his ninth of the season, for the 5-2 final. Ellis earned the win, stopping 30 of 32 shots. Quick took the loss for New York, making 27 saves on 31 shots faced. Zucker, named the game’s top star, finished with a goal and an assist. McLeod also had a goal and an assist, while Samuelsson contributed a goal and an assist along with four hits. For the Rangers, Trocheck scored a goal, and Miller and Panarin each recorded two assists. The game featured four penalties. New York’s Vincent Trocheck was called for unsportsmanlike conduct in the second period, and teammate Matthew Robertson was penalized for holding. Buffalo’s Noah Ostlund was whistled for tripping in the second, and Krebs received his double-minor in the third. The Sabres’ current hot streak includes recent wins over Vancouver, Dallas, St. Louis and Boston, with their only loss in the past 13 games coming at Columbus on Jan. 3. The Rangers, meanwhile, have lost two straight in overtime and now have dropped three of their last four. Buffalo continues its road trip with a game at Anaheim on Saturday. The Rangers head to Boston for a matchup on Saturday night. Pregame projections had favored the Sabres. National Statistical’s game simulator predicted a 3-2 Buffalo victory, while its ELO system gave the Rangers a 52 percent probability to win. The Sabres closed as a 1.5-goal favorite on the betting spread, and the total of seven goals went over the posted over/under line of 6.5. The teams had met once previously this season, with the Rangers shutting out the Sabres 4-0 in Buffalo on Oct. 9.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (Interstat) — The Buffalo Sabres will look to rebound from a lopsided loss and continue their recent road success when they visit the struggling New York Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Sabres (21-19-0) saw a three-game win streak snapped emphatically in a 5-1 loss at Columbus on Saturday. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a key player to watch, allowed five goals on 33 shots in that defeat. Prior to that, however, Luukkonen had been stellar, posting three consecutive wins while allowing just three total goals on 78 shots. Buffalo is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games and has been strong away from home, winning seven of its last eight road contests dating to Dec. 11. The Rangers (20-24-0), meanwhile, are trying to halt a slide that has seen them lose five of their last seven games. Their most recent outing was a 3-2 overtime loss to Utah on Monday. Center Mika Zibanejad remains the offensive catalyst, coming off a two-assist performance in that game. He had a dominant five-point night (three goals, two assists) in a 5-1 win at Florida on Jan. 2, highlighting his game-breaking potential. In the only previous meeting this season, the Rangers shut out the Sabres 4-0 in Buffalo on Oct. 9. The Sabres will aim to avenge that loss and improve their playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference, where they currently sit just outside a wild-card spot. The Rangers are further back in the standings and need a string of victories to re-enter the postseason conversation. Buffalo’s offense, which averaged four goals per game during its recent three-win streak, will test a Rangers team that has allowed three or more goals in five of its last seven games. New York’s power play, often led by Zibanejad, will challenge a Sabres penalty kill that conceded two power-play goals in the loss to Columbus. The game opens a critical three-game road trip for Buffalo, while the Rangers begin a brief two-game homestand before heading out on a four-game Western Conference swing. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.