At the Final Horn | Comeback falls short in loss to Rangers

Victor Olofsson saw his shot from the left faceoff circle pinball off of bodies in front of the New York Rangers net and deflect in off the arm of goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. For a moment, it seemed the Sabres had completed a comeback with 56.2 seconds remaining.
Olofsson's game-tying goal was overturned after video review deemed the play offside. The Rangers held on for a 2-1 victory at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
Georgiev made 36 saves for the Rangers, who received goals from Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere.
Brett Murray scored the lone goal for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 29 saves.
The loss was Buffalo's sixth in a row (0-5-1).

How it happened

Murray ignited the near comeback with 5:23 remaining in regulation. The rookie barreled toward the net and received a pass from down low, sticking with his own rebound after Georgiev made an initial save. It was Murray's second goal and fourth point in the last six games.
Buffalo appeared to tie the game on Olofsson's shot during the final minute, which bounced off the body of defenseman Patrik Nemeth before it was swiped in by Georgiev. The NHL Situation Room called for a video review and found that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was offside prior to the goal.
The Sabres were unable to get another shot past Georgiev, who made big stops to keep them off the board for most of the night. His highlight reel included point-blank stops on Vinnie Hinostroza and Jeff Skinner along with a breakaway on Zemgus Girgensons.
Zibanejad opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 4:48 of the first period, the product of a fortuitous bounce when an attempted pass through the slot bounced off Sabres forward Mark Jankowski in the slot and landed on Zibanejad's stick.
Lafreniere netted what would stand as the winning goal at 9:47 of the second, burying a long rebound off of Luukkonen's pad after a shot from Adam Fox on the rush.
The Sabres outshot the Rangers, 37-31.

Roll the highlight film

Luukkonen slid post to post to rob Chris Kreider during the second period, earning a hug from Dahlin and a classic call from Rick Jeanneret. Check it out below.

Worth mentioning

• Jankowski stepped into the lineup in place of Casey Mittelstadt, who is out indefinitely after undergoing successful surgery on Friday morning. Mittelstadt - who previously missed 21 games after sustaining an injury on opening night - left during the second period against Anaheim on Tuesday.

Up next

The Sabres host the Washington Capitals on Saturday. It will be Native American Heritage Night at KeyBank Center, presented by Seneca Resorts and Casinos. Find more information here.
Tickets are available here.
Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. The puck drops at 7.