NEW YORK – Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves in his 47th NHL shutout, and the New York Rangers won their second straight and first at home with a 2-0 victory over the lowly Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
Lundqvist made a late third-period save with the top of his helmet, deflecting the puck into the crowd, and then robbed Marcus Foligno with 1:20 remaining.
Derick Brassard scored a power-play goal in the first period, and Chris Kreider netted his second in two games in the middle period to give Lundqvist the only offense he would need to post his third win and second shutout this season.
The Rangers (5-7), who played 10 of their first 11 on the road, began a four-game homestand in workmanlike fashion. They recorded a season-high 46 shots on Buffalo's Ryan Miller, who was sharp throughout.
Buffalo lost its third straight and is a league-worst 2-12-1. The Sabres have been shut out three times.
The Rangers, who won at the New York Islanders on Tuesday, followed up a dominant first period with an identical 19-shot outburst in the second.
The only thing that kept the game close was Miller.
He could hardly be faulted for Kreider's goal that made it 2-0 with 8:39 left in the second. He stopped a drive by Mats Zuccarello and blocked it to his right. Kreider got to the rebound along the goal line and banked a shot off the back of Miller from a tough angle for his second in two games.
Lundqvist stopped everything that came his way while protecting the tenuous 1-0 lead and then made his best stops in the closing minute of the second to deny Drew Stafford and Jamie McBain from the doorstep after the Rangers went ahead by two goals.
Buffalo doubled its shot output to 12 in the second period, but the Sabres were outshot 38-18 through 40 minutes.
The Sabres put instant pressure on the Rangers after the game's opening faceoff, and New York had breakdowns in front of Lundqvist. But Buffalo was kept at bay, and the Rangers dominated the rest of the period.
New York fired often at Miller, and the Rangers were buoyed by a pair of power plays — the first resulting in the go-ahead goal.
With Tyler Myers off for tripping, Brassard wound up for a drive from above the right circle that found its way through traffic and a screen by J.T. Miller right in front of the net to make it 1-0 at 8:28. It was Brassard's second goal of the season, and the Rangers' third on the power play in two games.
Another advantage later in the first produced only one shot. Buffalo had its lone power play in the final two minutes of the period and recorded one shot. The Rangers held a 19-6 edge in shots in the first 20 minutes.
NOTES: The Rangers were without C Dominic Moore, who is expected to be sidelined seven to 10 days because of a strained oblique muscle. ... Following an in-person hearing Thursday, Sabres forward John Scott was given a seven-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Boston forward Loui Eriksson on Oct. 23. Scott served the fourth game of the ban. ... Rangers D Dan Girardi played in his 500th NHL game. D Marc Staal played in his 400th. ... The Sabres have been outscored 20-2 in the first period. ... New York was 5 for 32 on the power play before the past two games.
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