If they are to make a serious bid to reach the playoffs, Thursday’s game was virtually a must-win for the Rangers. Playing their 36th game, with only 20 remaining after this one, they could not afford to drop points against a Buffalo Sabres team that entered the night in last place in the East Division with only seven wins.
But coming off their first win in more than a month, the Sabres didn’t make it easy on the Rangers. And with the out-of- town scoreboard showing fourth-place Boston trailing in its game against Pittsburgh, the pressure was on the Rangers to do something to gain ground.