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Rangers use fast start to rout Sabres

Feb 17, 2008 - 12:46 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- After five days off, the New York Rangers were refreshed and well-prepared.

Sean Avery ignited a four-goal first period by scoring just 10 seconds into the game as the Rangers rolled to 5-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon.

Avery, who also netted New York's final goal in the second period for his first multi-goal game of the season, set a club record for the fastest goal to start a game at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers' overall record is nine seconds, set by Ron Duguay on April 6, 1980 at Philadelphia and matched by Jim Wiemer on March 27, 1985 at Buffalo.

Ryan Callahan, rookie Brandon Dubinsky and Brendan Shanahan also scored as New York chased goaltender Ryan Miller just 12:25 into the contest. Miller was replaced by Jocelyn Thibault after allowing four goals on 11 shots.

"It was just one of those things," Dubinsky said of the fast start. "We talked about having short shifts early because obviously, playing in practice is different than playing games.

"When you haven't played games in five days, I don't think you forget the intensity, but it might take some time to get adjusted. So we made sure we wanted to focus on our start, and we had a great start."

Dubinsky tied a career high with three points as he set up both of Avery's goals.

Captain Jaromir Jagr failed to score for the 10th consecutive game but recorded a pair of assists, doubling his total in the previous nine contests.

"If you can get the lead right away, then you don't have to press," Jagr said. "You just play your game. But if the game is tight or you are losing, then it's a totally different game. This way is a lot easier. We jumped on them, we were ready to score goals and we had the lead."

The Rangers cooled off the Sabres, who suffered their first regulation loss in 11 games (8-1-2). Buffalo has lost both meetings between the teams in New York but has two home games remaining against the Rangers, which could be crucial in the playoff race.

The Rangers jumped over the Sabres into seventh place in the tightly bunched Eastern Conference.

Buffalo equaled a season worst by allowing a four-goal period for the third time, and first since December 6 at Los Angeles.

The Sabres' top defensive pairing of Jaroslav Spacek and All-Star Brian Campbell was on the ice for all four goals and took responsibility.

"We fell asleep in the first period," Spacek said. "Every shot just got in and they just kept coming. We had no legs and were kind of flat-footed in the first period."

"They're a desperate team and were a lot more hungrier than we were," Campbell added.

Playing his first game since signing a six-year contract worth $41.2 million, Henrik Lundqvist recorded 29 saves for the Rangers. He narrowly missed his eighth shutout, allowing a power-play goal by Thomas Vanek with 6:58 remaining in the third period.

New York was playing its first game since a 3-2 overtime loss at Washington on Sunday. The four-goal outburst equaled their highest output in a period this season.

The Rangers scored four goals in the first period for the first time since March 7, 2003 at Philadelphia.

"They jumped on us," Spacek said. "They had five days off and we thought maybe it would be an easy game for us to come out here. They outskated us, they outshot us and played a really strong game."

The Rangers used some of their practice time to work on going to the net, which has been a problem throughout the season, and it paid off early.

"The start was certainly everything we hoped for," New York coach Tom Renney said. "That was a passionate team that wanted to come out and make it really clear to Buffalo, who have been really good lately, that they are going to have their hands full. From my point of view, we were certainly satisfied with our start."

Shortly after the opening faceoff, Dubinsky drove to the net and was able to get a wrist shot on goal despite being mauled by Jochen Hecht. Avery jumped into the play through the slot, got in front of Miller and put home the rebound.

New York doubled the lead after Campbell's turnover. Martin Straka took a pass from former Sabre Chris Drury in front of the net and Callahan batted in the rebound out of mid-air for a 2-0 lead just 4:29 into the contest.

The Rangers chased Miller with two more goals in a span of 3:20.

"We were talking before the game about making sure we weren't sleeping because we had been off for so long," Shanahan said. "I don't think we expected to get off to that good of a start."

During a 4-on-4 situation, Dubinsky and Jagr traded cross-ice passes before reaching the offensive zone. Although Campbell was shadowing him, Dubinsky put a backhander between Miller's pads for his 10th of the season and a 3-0 lead.

Shanahan sent Miller to the bench with a slap shot from above the left faceoff circle. It was the 645th career goal for the veteran, who returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games with assorted leg injuries.

"As bad as we were, that's as good as they were," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "They skated us into the ice in the first 10 minutes."