Sabres new division opponent breakdown: New York Rangers

Another quality opponent that will be a new division rival for the Sabres this season is the New York Rangers. We let you know what you should expect from this new Sabres divisional rival for 2021.

The New York Rangers are another team that will prove to be a tough opponent for the Buffalo Sabres this year in the new North Division. The Sabres have lost seven of their last ten games vs the Rangers. Buffalo will look to start to change their luck against the Rangers this season.

The Rangers are currently at +700 to win the East Division, which is the seventh-best odds according to sportsbettingdime.com.

New York posted a very high powered offense last season. They ranked fifth in the league in goals scored per game with 3.33. The Rangers power-play was a top-tier unit as well operating at 22.7%, which slotted them in at seventh in the league.

The Rangers held onto their firepower for this season, as any competing team would. Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad make an incredible 1-2 punch in any offensive lineup. The Rangers can probably expect to see a little bit more from Kaapo Kakko as well. He posted 10 goals and 23 points in 66 games last year, so nothing much to write home about, but they have high expectations for him.

And then there is also first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, who arguably is the most hyped-up forward prospect since Sidney Crosby, and rightfully so. This unit will be a tough one for the Sabres to contain for sure.

The Ranger defense, however, doesn’t look to be as strong. The defense is fairly young and still developing. They ranked 23rd with 3.14 goals allowed last season. They also had the 23rd ranked penalty kill at 77.4%. They gave up the second-most shots per game last season too, with 34 shots allowed.

The Rangers brought in former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson this offseason, but his performance has declined over the last few seasons. New York will almost certainly have to lean on their offense to keep them in games this year.

Probably the biggest change for the Rangers going into this season is no more Henrik Lundqvist. Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev will likely take over the goaltending duties in New York. Shesterkin seems to be the favorite to start the season as the starter, but this will likely be a timeshare between the two goaltenders. Shesterkin was very impressive in his limited showings last year, posting a 2.52 goals allowed average and a .932 save percentage in 12 appearances.

The Rangers are entering this year with hopes to compete for a playoff spot. They have lots of young talent with the potential to perform really well this season. They could certainly be a team that the Sabres are battling with late in the year for a chance to get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.