Buffalo Sabres beat the Rangers for first win of the season

The Buffalo Sabres bounced back from a poor showing on opening night with a 3-1 win over the New York Rangers.

Led by big nights from Carter Hutton, Conor Sheary, and newly anointed captain Jack Eichel, the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 3-1 at the KeyBank Center or Saturday night. Although it was not a perfect night, the Sabres looked much better after the debacle in their first game against the Boston Bruins.

Carter Hutton was the first star of the night as he saved 43 of 44 shots. Hutton has looked strong in his first 2 starts as a Buffalo Sabre as he continues to play well after his impressive season last year in St. Louis. The highlight of the game came from Hutton when he made a huge save on 3-0 in the second period:

Speaking of new Sabres having a big night, Conor Sheary potted 2 power play goals, including the game winning goal in the second period. Sheary capitalized on being bumped up to the top line as well as the top power play unit. Among the Sabres forwards, only Jack Eichel had more shifts than Sheary. Last night was the first time that Conor Sheary has scored 2 power play goals in one game.

"“We knew this was an important one. We kind of got spanked in our home opener so we wanted to come out and have a strong effort. It was good to have two points tonight.” – Conor Sheary"

The third star of the night was Jack Eichel. The Sabres’ played 25:45, the highest total of his career. Eichel also scored on an empty-net goal in the third, his first goal of the season. He played the most against the Rangers top line of Chris Kreider, Pavel Buchnevich, and Mika Zibanejad.

Rasmus Ristolainen, with a team leading 26:57, and Marco Scandella continue to be the top pairing on defense for the Sabres. Rasmus Dahlin had 22 shifts and played 17:05 in his second game. Dahlin saw a little action on the power play and has yet to be on the ice for the penalty kill this season. Although they have been primarily the third pairing for the Sabres, Nathan Beaulieu and Casey Nelson have played very well in the first 2 games:

The Buffalo Sabres will need to tighten up on defense moving ahead. Allowing 43 shots against the Rangers, one of the weaker teams in the Eastern Conference, is something that will need to be improved upon moving forward as tougher opponents lie ahead for the Sabres. Additionally, the Sabres have yet to score an even strength goal this season.

Up next for the Buffalo Sabres are defending Western Conference champions the Vegas Golden Knights who bring in a 1-1 record to Buffalo for a matinee on Monday afternoon.

What are your takeaways from the Sabres first win? Let us know in the comment section below.