Bobby Bevilacqua

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Following a tough loss at home to the Islanders, the Rangers (38-22-6) will look to try and add points to their second place lead when they battle the Buffalo Sabres (27-31-9) at the First Niagara Center without their full lineup intact.

After the defeat at the hands of the Islanders, the Rangers lead in the Metropolitan fell to just three points. If they want to rebound with a win tonight, they’ll need to play a much more complete game than they did on Sunday. The Rangers didn’t show up for the first 10 minutes of the game and gave up three quick goals, and their late game comeback wasn’t enough.

The Rangers have lost two out of their last three games after winning five of six games, and the Islanders and the Penguins are now creeping up in the standings. On top of that, they’ll be playing tonight’s game without four of their key players. Henrik Lundqvist and Rick Nash are getting closer to returning but remain out, plus Dylan McIlrath and Marc Staal did not make the trip to Buffalo. The Rangers recalled Brady Skjei from Hartford on an emergency basis. Read the rest of this entry →