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BUFFALO, N.Y. – Rookie Alexandar Georgiev blocked 31 shots, including 13 in the final, and the Rangers defeated the Sabers 6-2 on Friday night.
Vladislav Namestnikov scored twice in the last four minutes while adding help. Jesper Fast and Boo Nieves gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first period. Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich also scored.
The Rangers have improved to 8-5-1 in their last 14 games and earned their 58th point to finish 12th in the Eastern Conference standings.
Buffalo blew a chance to reduce Pittsburgh 's idle gap in the race to finish eighth and last place for the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Sabers have 63 points and remain four behind the Penguins.
Jeff Skinner scored twice for Buffalo, whose 36th overall, and Linus Ullmark blocked 23 shots.
With the Rangers 3-2, Georgiev was particularly strong in the first six minutes of the third period. He first crossed the left to stop 58 seconds of Rasmus Dahlin. Some five minutes later, the goalkeeper stood up to stop Tage Thompson's shot.
Georgiev won his third consecutive start. He made 55 saves in a 4-1 win against Toronto on Sunday.
Buchnevich gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead by scoring a Kevin Hayes pass on the left left open with 4:01 left. Namestnikov then scored in an open goal in the next matchoff, after Ullmark played the puck badly. He passed the Ullmark Staff and headed for the net to Namestnikov.
The Sabers closed their home seven games to 3-3-1 while continuing a long series of incoherent outings.
After a 3-1 win over the Islanders on Tuesday, Buffalo were attempting to win consecutive games for the first time since December 11-13.
Skinner reduced the Rangers' lead to 2-1 with a time in Jason Pominville's pass in the left circle 53 seconds after the start of the second period.
The Rangers responded 54 seconds later, when Vesey blocked a puck inside the right post following a Buchnevich pass.
Skinner then scored a power-play goal with 3:04 to go. Dahlin cashed a puck that bounced and fed Skinner on top of the right circle, and he hit a shot that tricked Georgiev.
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