Sabres score 6, ease past Rangers

NEW YORK -- The Buffalo Sabres had six different goal-scorers and got at least one point from all 12 forwards in a 6-1 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

"Yeah, you're not going to lose many games when you get an effort like that out of every line," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said.

Zach Benson had a goal and an assist for his first two points of the season. Jack Quinn had two assists, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves.

Buffalo (6-7-1) has 11 goals in its past two games, including a 5-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, after scoring eight in a three-game losing streak.

"You need scoring depth and when you have every line playing the right way and frustrating the other team, that's why every line got offense tonight," Sabres forward Tage Thompson said. "They were forcing stuff when it wasn't there and we were in good position, and then we get some rush chances and go back the other way. Our lineup, there's skill on every single line, guys that can finish. We saw that tonight. We were able to capitalize on their mistakes."

Will Cuylle scored for the Rangers (8-3-1), who were 0-for-4 on the power play. Artemi Panarin had an assist for his 800th NHL point (274 goals, 526 assists).

"I personally didn't like the effort that we had to attack the game offensively," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. "I don't like the fact that we weren't on the attack more."

Igor Shesterkin made seven saves on 12 shots before he was replaced by Jonathan Quick, who made nine saves on 10 shots.

Shesterkin's save percentage plummeted from .933 entering the game to .920 coming out of it.

"It was a bad day," Shesterkin said. "We need to turn this page and be ready for the next game."

Rasmus Dahlin gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead 26 seconds into the first period with a low shot from the left face-off circle that beat Shesterkin through his five-hole.

The play started with Jordan Greenway dumping the puck into the corner in a way so the Sabres could be first to it. They gained possession along the wall and Bowen Byram got it at the right point. He moved it to Dahlin on the left side and he scored from the circle.

"We have definitely been focusing on that just putting it into spots with guys going in with speed," Greenway said. "It helps out a lot when you keep it away from their goalie, who likes to control the puck, and put it in spots where you can get it back. It's helpful. It makes it hard on them. We were able to turn it into something, which got some momentum for us."

Dylan Cozens made it 2-0 at 2:45 of the second period. K'Andre Miller got caught high in the zone and Cozens was open in the left circle. Benson got the puck to him and he ripped a low, far-side shot under Shesterkin's glove.

"First shift we let them walk in and have one, and it didn't get much better after that," Rangers defenseman Adam Fox said. "It was just a sloppy game."

Thompson extended the lead to 3-0 at 11:39, scoring off the rush with a shot from between the circles off a drop pass from Connor Clifton as he drove to the net.

"We talked all night about getting traffic in front of Igor and taking his eyes away, and I thought he couldn't see that one," Thompson said. "There was a lot of bodies in front. We did a good job on that one."

Greenway scored 30 seconds later at 12:09 to make it 4-0. Jason Zucker won the puck from Ryan Lindgren in the right corner, brought it to the net and fed Greenway, who put it in at the left post.

Sam Lafferty connected with a backhand off a rush with Beck Malenstyn to make it 5-0 at 13:51, signaling the end to Shesterkin's night.

"That's totally on us," Fox said. "It wasn't a quantity thing, it was a quality thing, and no goalie is saving those chances they got."

Cuylle made it 5-1 at 4:21 of the third period, scoring from in front of the net when Zac Jones' shot deflected off him and looped over Luukkonen before dropping into the net.

Benson tapped in a centering pass from Quinn on the power play at 11:55 for the 6-1 final.

"I mean, that's probably one of the top goalies in the League, probably top three goalies, so to run him out fairly early, it's pretty impressive," Benson said of Shesterkin. "We just have to keep playing this way. We have to keep playing quick. We're playing to our identity again."

NOTES: The only other time in Sabres history that they had all 12 forwards record at least one point in a single game was on Jan. 17, 1994, in a 7-2 win against the Washington Capitals. … Buffalo is 3-0-2 in its past five games at Madison Square Garden and 4-1-3 in its past eight against the Rangers. … Panarin's 800 points are the fifth most in the NHL since he debuted in the 2015-16 season. With 684 games played, Panarin is the sixth-fastest undrafted player to 800 points behind Hockey Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky (352), Peter Stastny (531), Bobby Orr (575), Phil Esposito (633) and Adam Oates (657).