Zibanejad: 'No excuse' for Rangers' dreadful outing vs. Sabres
The New York Rangers are ready to turn the page after a 6-1 loss against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
Veteran forward Mika Zibanejad had no way of justifying the team's poor outing.
"There's no excuse for what happened today," Zibanejad said. "We just have to understand that that wasn't good enough and go to work tomorrow and get back to doing what we do."
The Sabres held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes but poured it on in the middle frame with four more goals, including three in a span of 2:12, to chase Vezina Trophy front-runner Igor Shesterkin.
Captain Jacob Trouba chalked up the disastrous game to poor preparation.
"I don't think we were ready to play," Trouba said. "I don't think that's really (a secret)."
Head coach Peter Laviolette shortened the bench in the third period. Breakout forward Alexis Lafreniere - fresh off signing a seven-year, $52.15-million extension in late October - notably played just 2:54 in the final frame. Lafreniere, Filip Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko all sat for the first 6:58 of the third period.
"The guys that seemed to have a little bit more pop to me were the guys I was trying to put back on the ice," Laviolette explained.
The 8-3-1 Rangers will get a chance to rebound Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings.