Zach Benson scored twice, and the Buffalo Sabres recovered for a 5-3 win against the host New York Rangers on Wednesday.
Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker each had a goal and an assist for the Sabres (48-23-8, 104 points), who moved into sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 17 saves.
Alexis Lafreniere scored twice, Adam Fox had a goal and an assist, and Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves for the Rangers (33-37-9, 75 points), who had won two straight and five of their previous six games.
McLeod snapped a 16-game goal drought to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 4:40 of the first period. He received a feed from Zucker while skating down the right side and took it to the near circle before firing a snap shot that beat Shesterkin under his arm blocker side.
Benson made it 2-0 at 8:58. Rasmus Dahlin fired a shot from above the right circle, and Benson, battling at the crease, redirected it past Shesterkin’s right pad.
Lafreniere cut it to 2-1 on the power play at 19:21. J.T. Miller fed Fox at the point, and Fox fired a quick shot that Lafreniere tipped by Luukkonen’s glove.
Lafreniere struck again early in the second period to pull the Rangers even. Drew Fortescue intercepted the puck off a Buffalo turnover at the New York blue line and spotted Lafreniere for a breakaway, with the winger putting a snap shot over Luukkonen’s right arm at 2:57.
Fox’s wrist shot from the top of the slot on the power play beat a screened Luukkonen inside the right post to put the Rangers ahead 3-2 at 14:44.
Alex Tuch tipped a shot from Peyton Krebs from the blue line by Shesterkin’s glove at 5:51 of the third period to tie it 3-3.
Zucker made it 4-3 Sabres roughly a minute and a half later, collecting a loose puck on the doorstep and slipping it past a sprawled Shesterkin at 7:14.
Benson added an empty-net goal at 18:45 for the 5-3 final.
