A goaltending duel of epic proportions required extra time, extra shooters, and a hometown hero before the New York Rangers came away with a 1-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Feb 2, 2012 - Despite both the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers having played in games on Tuesday night, both teams had an incredible level of energy as they took the ice at the First Niagara Center.
With Henrik Lundqvist and Ryan Miller in net, it was not a stretch to expect world class goaltending, but this game defied even the loftiest expectations.
For sixty five minutes, both goaltenders turned aside every chance, helped in no small part by both defenses putting on a shot blocking clinic.
A physical affair, more than a few battles along the boards and duels for position ended with both combatants heading back to their benches with bruises and cuts. The crowd fed off the energy of the players and vice versa as each team battled back and forth, cheering for the incredible efforts from each side.
Despite both teams getting power play opportunities in overtime, Miller and Lundqvist continued to make highlight reel saves, in particular a last second save by Lundqvist on Brad Boyes and a stunning leg pad stop on Ryan Callahan by Miller at the side of the net during the four on three power play.
As the crowd saluted both teams following the extra period for the incredible effort, the Sabres would see Nathan Gerbe stopped by King Henrik, while Marian Gaborik scored on the opening attempt for the Rangers with a rising shot that hit both inside posts before bursting out of the net.
Brad Boyes made the next attempt for Buffalo, and Lundqivst performed an exceptional diving save to shut him down, while Miller stopped John Mitchell.
Jason Pominville finally solved Lundqvist with a rocket wrist shot to keep the Sabres alive, and Miller made an impressive glove save on Brad Richards to send the contest into extra shooters.
Tyler Ennis, Derek Stepan, and Ville Leino were all stopped, leaving the game in the hands of Rochester native Ryan Callahan, who delivered the game winning goal to move the Rangers into a tie for the President's Trophy, while the struggling Sabres move into a tie with Tampa Bay for 11th place, still nine points back of the final playoff spot in the East.
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