At the Horn | Sabres 5 - Rangers 1

The Buffalo Sabres exploded for three goals in the final five minutes of the game to defeat the New York Rangers 5-1, handing them just their fourth regulation loss of the season inside Madison Square Garden on Monday.

The Sabres held a 2-0 lead after two periods of play and never looked back, receiving a pair of goals from Alex Tuch and tallies from JJ Peterka, Casey Mittelstadt, and Kyle Okposo in the win.

Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finished with 25 stops on 26 shots, including a highlight-reel save on a shot by Jimmy Vesey early in the third.

Mittelstadt (1+2), Tuch (2+0), Victor Olofsson (0+2), and Owen Power (0+2) all recorded multi-point nights for the Sabres.

Mika Zibanejad tallied the Rangers’ lone goal while Igor Shesterkin made 34 saves on 38 shots.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 11:41 – JJ Peterka from Victor Olofsson and Owen Power (1-0, BUF)

Olofsson and Power worked to keep the play alive as Peterka picked up a loose puck in the slot and beat Shesterkin to give the Sabres the lead.

Period 2, 19:33 – Alex Tuch from Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin (2-0, BUF)

Dahlin delivered a hard pass to Mittelstadt in the right circle. Mittelstadt took a shot and Tuch put away the rebound to put Buffalo up 2-0.

Period 3, 8:08 (PP) – Mika Zibanejad from Erik Gustafsson and Artemi Panarin (2-1, BUF)

Zibanejad fired a one-timer from the left circle to bring the Rangers within one. 

Period 3, 15:29 – Alex Tuch from Casey Mittelstadt and Owen Power (3-1, BUF)

Mittelstadt fed Tuch, who tallied his second of the night to give the Sabres a two-goal lead.

Period 3, 18:29 (EN) – Casey Mittelstadt from Jeff Skinner (4-1, BUF)

Mittelstadt capped off his three-point performance with an empty-net goal.

Period 3, 19:53 – Kyle Okposo from Henri Jokiharju and Victor Olofsson (5-1, BUF)

Jokiharju sent a cross-ice pass to Okposo, who one-timed a shot past Shesterkin to extend the lead with seven seconds remaining.

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The Sabres visit the St. Louis Blues on Thursday at Enterprise Center.

Coverage on MSG/MSG+ kicks off at 7:30 p.m. with faceoff scheduled for 8.