BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York Rangers emerged victorious, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Wednesday evening, with Adam Fox contributing significantly with one goal and two assists.

Mika Zibanejad marked a milestone by scoring his 300th career goal, while Reilly Smith also found the net for the Rangers, who halted a two-game losing streak and secured their third win in the last 11 games. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin excelled by denying 29 shots from the Sabres.

For the Sabres, Owen Power and Tage Thompson each scored, but the team continued to struggle, suffering their eighth consecutive loss, with a record of 0-5-3 in that stretch. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in goal for Buffalo, saving 25 shots throughout the match.

Fox played a pivotal role in the Rangers’ offense, providing assists on Zibanejad’s power-play goal early in the first period at 7:01, as well as Smith’s goal later in the third period, which put the Rangers ahead 2-0 with just over six minutes left. After Power scored to bring Buffalo within one, Fox’s empty-net goal 2:02 from the end of the game confirmed the Rangers’ win.

Injury concerns emerged for the Rangers when defenseman K’Andre Miller was unable to return for the third period due to an upper-body issue.

In terms of coaching decisions, Buffalo’s head coach Lindy Ruff emphasized accountability, which led to him benching star defenseman Owen Power for the last 12 minutes of the first period following a turnover. Forward J.J. Peterka was also benched for a substantial portion of the second period.

Shesterkin’s win marked his first following the announcement of his impressive eight-year, $92 million contract extension. This victory helped ease some pressure after the Rangers faced back-to-back disappointing losses at home against Seattle and Chicago.

A critical moment in the match came with Zibanejad’s opening goal that set the tone early on, forcing the Sabres to chase the lead throughout the game. The Rangers improved their record to 12-2-0 when scoring first this season.

For a historical context, this marks the Sabres’ longest losing streak since November 2022, when they lost eight consecutive games. Their last record of losing nine in a row dates back to a notorious 18-game losing streak in early 2021.

Looking ahead, the Sabres will travel to Washington on Saturday to begin a three-game road trip, while the Rangers are set to host the Los Angeles Kings.