4 Rapid Takeaways from the Rangers' 3-2 Win over Buffalo

After a 2-8-0 record over the past 10 games, the New York Rangers are finally back in the win column — claiming two points in a 3-2 matchup win over the Buffalo Sabres.

The Wednesday night road match featured many key Rangers' moments. Despite scoring two goals leading up to the end of the third period, Adam Fox's empty net goal stood as the game winner due to Buffalo's Tage Thompson scoring the Sabres' second goal of the night with 37.7 left on the clock.

Let's breakdown other key moments and explain how the Rangers got their latest win with four key takeaways from the Blueshirts' latest matchup.

1. Mika Zibanejad Getting his 300th Goal

According to Larry Brooks, center Mika Zibanejad's confidence has been on the rocks due to recent — and rightful — criticism he's received. But in the first period, Zibanejad scored his 300th career goal on the power play. He is the eighth Swedish-born skater to reach the milestone

This was his sixth goal of the 2024-25 campaign, and if you ask me, he almost looked relieved to finally score another one when it went in.

“That’s what we talked about before the game, just one, one win," Zibanejad said postgame. "That’s all we care about. Obviously, you want to be able to stand here with an unbelievable effort for 60 minutes and have only positive stuff , but I’ll take the win. We’ll take the win, and keep building."

2. K'Andre Miller's Status

During the matchup, K’Andre Miller did not return to the ice in the midst of the third period due to an upper body injury. He was not seen on the bench either. Postgame, there was no update from head coach Peter Laviolette on his status.

The 24-year-old native of St. Paul, Minn., is in his fifth season with the Rangers and has recorded two goals and four assists alongside a minus-5 rating across 27 games.  Miller is in the final year of a two-year, $7.7 million contract and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

3. Artemi Panarin's 700th NHL Game

Nicknamed "the Breadman." Artemi Panarin logged his 700th NHL game against Buffalo. During his historic milestone, he tallied the assist for Zibanejad's goal.

The undrafted free agent joined the Rangers on July 1, 2019, when he signed a seven-year, $81.5 million contract.

4. A One-Goal Win

While a win is always a good thing, this was a one-goal win that almost went into overtime during the final seconds. Let's remember that on-paper — despite the Rangers'' recent struggles — the Blueshirts should have won by more than one goal against a team with 13 losses and towards the very bottom of the Atlantic Division going into the matchup.

Following the results of Wednesday night, the Rangers now hold a 15-12-1 record.

Up Next

The Rangers have a bit of a break before they return back to Madison Square Garden to host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, Dec. 14,