5 takeaways | Tokarski makes career-high 44 saves in OT loss to Rangers

Don Granato saw telltale signs of fatigue in the Sabres' game as Thursday night wore on against the New York Rangers. He saw it in players' hesitation, in their chatter on the bench and, ultimately, on the scoreboard. An early lead had evaporated into a 2-1 deficit by midway through the third period.
It was goaltender Dustin Tokarski who kept the Sabres in the game long enough to mount a final push. Tage Thompson scored the tying goal with 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation, salvaging a point in what ended as a 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers at KeyBank Center.
Mika Zibanejad scored the winning goal for New York on a 2-on-1 rush with 28 seconds left in overtime.
"It would have felt a lot better to get the win," Thompson said. "[Tokarski] deserved that one big time. He played a great game, stood on his head, made some huge saves for us. It would have been nice to get him the win, but I think you've got to be proud of the way we battled back."
Here are five takeaways from the game.

1. A tale of two periods

The Sabres seemed to pick up where they left off in Wednesday's 6-1 victory over Philadelphia to start the game. They generated a 7-2 edge in high-danger chances at 5-on-5 during the first period (according to NaturalStatTrick.com) and took an early lead on a goal scored in the blue paint by Rasmus Asplund.
The game flipped in the second period. The Rangers spent long stretches in the Buffalo zone, generating lopsided advantages in 5-on-5 shot attempts (21-3) and scoring chances (12-1) and tying the score after a defensive breakdown left Colin Blackwell alone for a one-time shot.
The Rangers' advantage bled into the third, leading to Filip Chytil potting the go-ahead goal following a scramble in front of the net.
Granato said fatigue was a factor for the Sabres, who played their third game in four nights.
"When we spoke to the team after the second period, that was the number one message," the interim head coach said. "'What you're battling, fellas, is fatigue. All the signs show it. You know it, we know it, let's talk about the elephant in the room here.'
"… We had to change our mindset and just find a way to surge and push through, get back to playing our game because we didn't in the second period."

2. Thompson evens the score

Granato felt the team did elevate its play when the time came to make a late push with Tokarski pulled for an extra attacker. The game-tying sequence began with a battle won along the boards by Sam Reinhart, who freed the puck to Thompson above him.
Thompson passed low to Casey Mittelstadt, who dished a return pass off his backhand. Thompson buried a far-side shot from the left circle.

"I thought our guys elevated tremendously in the last few minutes to get that goal," Granato said.

3. Tokarski battles in net

Tokarski made a career-high 44 saves, 10 of which came shorthanded to hold the Rangers to an 0-for-4 night on the power play. Granato called him a "competitor" afterward, a description that matched the veteran's self-assessment.

"I like to compete, I like to fight hard, try to see every single shot to give myself the best chance to stop it," Tokarski said. "And when you find that good zone in the crease, whether it's mid or high, just to be able to be able to track the [puck] and just get in a groove is my game."

4. Asplund scores in return to lineup

Asplund returned from a four-game absence stemming from a lower-body injury. His goal was third in his last six games.

5. The big picture

The Sabres are 1-2-2 against the Rangers this season with meeting No. 6 due up at home on Saturday night. The team has a scheduled day off on Friday to recuperate in the meantime.
Coverage on Friday begins at 6:30 p.m. on MSG. Puck drop is scheduled for 7.