Rangers lose game and young winger - New York Daily News

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Rangers lose game and young winger - New York Daily News Mar 24th 2012, 01:44 Howard Simmons/New York Daily News Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist looks behind him as the puck slips past in a 4-1 loss. SABRES 4, NY RANGERS 1 The Buffalo Sabres knocked the wind out of the Rangers in a 4-1 loss at the Garden Friday night, ending their seven-game homestand with a thud and adding insult to a long-term injury to winger Mats Zuccarello, who fractured his left wrist on a first-period blocked shot.   Every game in which the Blueshirts (46-21-7, 99 points) fail to pick up a point opens the door a bit more for the surging Penguins (46-21-6, 98 points), who now have a game in hand and are charging hard for the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed. The Rangers now have eight games remaining, beginning Saturday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.   The Sabres (36-29-10, 82 points) are in a dogfight with several teams for the eighth and final seed in the East and played that way on Friday night. Buffalo's Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford each scored on odd-man rushes in transition against a Rangers club that lost its shape and discipline trying to overcome a 2-1 deficit entering the third.   Trailing 1-0 early in the second period, rookie defenseman Tim Erixon recorded his first NHL point with an assist on Brian Boyle's goal that tied it 1-1 with 10:28 remaining in the second, the other helper going to Artem Anisimov on a Boyle faceoff win.   But the Sabres regained the lead four minutes later off a John Mitchell offensive zone turnover, leading to a two-on-one the other way that Drew Stafford wristed over Lundqvist's glove hand.   Zuccarello, who injected life into the Rangers' power play following his March 11 call-up from the AHL, fractured his left wrist when he blocked a shot by Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold with 11:12 remaining in the first period and could be seen wincing in pain as he chased the puck into the corner. He then immediately skated off to the bench and to the locker room. The Rangers announced the bad news at the first intermission, adding he is out indefinitely.   Zuccarello scored two goals and had an assist in his six games after being recalled from the Connecticut Whale, where he spent the majority of the season. His creativity, passing and improved physical play earned him praise from John Tortorella in the past two weeks.   Unfortunately, Zuccarello injured himself while demonstrating he has bought into the shot-blocking style the coach preaches.   The 23-year-old is in the second and final year of a two-year, $1.8 million contract that amounts to a $3.5 million deal including bonuses. He will become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and Rangers GM Glen Sather earlier this week reportedly said he wants to re-sign the diminutive playmaker.   Zuccarello's injury likely means the return to the lineup of struggling veteran winger Ruslan Fedotenko on Saturday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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