NEW YORK — Chris Kreider scored 2:28 into overtime, Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves and the New York Rangers beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Saturday night.
Kreider picked up his 17th goal of the season after Shesterkin denied Buffalo’s Casey Mittlestadt on a breakaway in OT. Kreider also had an assist, giving him five in his last three games.
Mika Zibanejad had a goal and two assists as New York won for the 15th time in its last 21 games against Buffalo. Artemi Panarin and Ryan Lindgren also scored for the Rangers.
Zibanejad snapped a 2-2 tie with his 13th goal 7:13 into the second period. Zibanejad has seven goals and six assists during a seven-game point streak.
But Mittlestadt scored his ninth 6:50 into the third. Mittelstadt has 13 points, including four goals, in his last 11 games against the Rangers.
The Rangers’ Barclay Goodrow was called for high-sticking at 17:09 of the third, and Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin was sent off for hooking Zibanejad at 18:46. But both teams came up empty on the ensuing power plays.
The first-place Rangers entered their holiday break with a 23-8-1 record. Shesterkin won his third straight to improve to 13-7-0.
Lindgren and Panarin scored in the first period, but Buffalo rallied on goals by Dahlin late in the first and Jack Quinn early in the second.
Lindgren opened the scoring at 7:19, beating Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with a long shot through traffic for his second goal of the season.
Panarin made it 2-0 on a power play at 15:35, scoring his team-leading 18th on the season. He has a point in 26 of 32 games this season.
Dahlin got his 10th goal 16:37 into the first. He scored for the third straight game.
The Rangers were coming off 4-3 home loss to Edmonton on Friday. They improved to 5-0 in the second half of back-to-backs.
The Sabres routed the Maple Leafs 9-3 at home on Thursday after losing 9-4 at home to Columbus on Tuesday.
The Sabres are 14-17-4 overall, seventh in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo hasn’t reached the postseason since 2010-11.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
Sabres: Host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.