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Sabres host surging Rangers

Mar 10, 2008 - 2:02 PM NY Rangers (36-24-9) at Buffalo (32-27-10) 7:00 pm EDT

BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) - The Buffalo Sabres wrap up their season series with the New York Rangers on Monday needing a win to stay in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.

The Sabres trail the Philadelphia Flyers (35-26-8) by four points for eighth place in the East. Buffalo has lost four of five games and two straight, including Saturday's 4-3 overtime decision at Carolina.

"It's good that we got a point and battled back and showed character (against Carolina), but on the other hand, we needed two points," Sabres center Derek Roy said. "We can't wait until the last five games to start playing. We've got to do it now."

The Sabres haven't fared well against the Rangers this season, losing all three games by an aggregate score of 11-5.

Rookie center Brandon Dubinsky and left wing Sean Avery each have three goals against the Sabres while goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals-against average.

New York is 9-0-3 in its last 12 games, including a 1-0 shootout victory at home over Boston on Sunday.

The Rangers, who are currently sixth in the East, lead the Bruins by a point with 13 games remaining for both teams. New York is third in the Atlantic Division, but only five points behind New Jersey for the lead in both the division and the conference.