Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin pulled after nightmare five-goal first period against Sabres

BUFFALO — Someone tell the New York Rangers the 4 Nations Face-Off break is over. The Blueshirts’ first game back against the Sabres on Saturday night got off to a disastrous start when star goalie Igor Shesterkin was pulled just 18:21 into the game after giving up five goals on 16 shots. That was five Sabres goals compared to the Rangers’ zero.

Not only did the home team take a 5-0 lead, but Buffalo doubled the Rangers in shots on goal, 16-8. Head coach Peter Laviolette was grasping at line combinations to try and change the Rangers’ momentum, but nothing appeared to be working. The Rangers may have had double the amount of players the Sabres had at the 4 Nations tournament, with all six players competing at one point or another, but it was a team-wide bad start.



The Sabres had three players, but only two actually played..