NHL Morning Skate – Jan. 2, 2018

MONDAY’S RESULT

Home Team in Caps

NY Rangers 3, BUFFALO 2 (OT)

LUNDQVIST, RANGERS WIN FOURTH OUTDOOR GAME AT WINTER CLASSIC

The Sabres scored 27 seconds into the third period to tie the game, but J.T. Miller (1-1—2) netted the winning goal at 2:43 of overtime to lift the Rangers to victory in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citi Field. New York improved to 4-0-0 all-time in regular-season outdoor games, the most such wins by any team.

* The Rangers and Sabres played the fifth overtime game in the NHL’s 24 regular-season outdoor contests – and second straight on New Year’s Day.

* Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves to register his fourth win in an NHL outdoor game, the most of any netminder. Lundqvist, who has a 1.98 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in outdoor games, is the only goaltender with more than two wins in such contests.

* Lundqvist (775 GP) recorded the 423rd win of his NHL career to tie Tony Esposito (423 W in 886 GP) for eighth place on the all-time list. Roberto Luongo (459 W in 981 GP) – who ranks fourth in NHL history – is the only active goaltender with more victories.

QUICK HITS: 2018 BRIDGESTONE NHL WINTER CLASSIC 

* A sellout crowd of 41,821 fans attended the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, bringing total attendance for the League’s 24 regular-season outdoor games to 1,284,097, an average of 53,504 per game.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION

CLUBS LOOK TO CONTINUE HOT STREAKS INTO 2018

Tampa Bay, Vegas and Florida are among the clubs looking to bring recent hot streaks into 2018 as 24 teams take the ice on Tuesday:

* The Lightning (28-8-2, 58 points) – who are 12-3-0 since Nov. 28 – aim to become the first team to reach 60 points in 2017-18 when they visit the Maple Leafs (23-15-2, 48 points). Tampa Bay holds a four-point lead atop the League standings, guided by the offensive efforts of forward Nikita Kucherov – who leads the NHL in goals (25) and points (56) – and defensively by goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy – who has the most wins (25) and shutouts (5) of any netminder.

* The Western Conference-leading Golden Knights (26-9-2, 54 points) begin 2018 with a home-ice matchup against the Ducks (18-14-8, 44 points), who have lost only once in their past five games (Dec. 27 vs. VGK). Vegas, meanwhile, has recorded at least a point in each of its past 12 games (11-0-1), including an active seven-game win streak – only Los Angeles has won eight straight games this season (8-0-0 from Nov. 25 – Dec. 9).

* The Panthers (17-16-5, 39 points) set out for a sixth consecutive when they begin a five-game road trip against the Wild (20-16-3, 43 points). Florida last had a win streak of at least six games in 2015-16 when the club established a franchise record with 12 straight victories from Dec. 15 – Jan. 10. James Reimer has been in net for all five wins during this run, posting a 1.29 goals-against average, .952 save percentage and two shutouts in that span.