This was what the Rangers were supposed to look like. These were the stretches — and the dominant ones, at that — they were supposed to produce consistently, with this talent and these expectations. 

For most of the third period, the Blueshirts were in control. They outshot the Sabres 10-1 at one point. A “Let’s Go Rangers” chant even broke out for a team that has been brutal at the Garden this year. Vincent Trocheck drew a double-minor with just under six minutes left to give them a chance to equalize while down a goal, too. 

But in a fitting turn, Alexis Lafrenière committed a turnover early in the power play and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson beat him down the ice to score, giving the Sabres an insurance tally in the Rangers’ 5-2 loss Thursday.

Their record at the Garden dropped to a shocking 5-11-4. It marked the Rangers’ sixth loss in their last eight games overall amid a critical stretch ahead of the trade deadline that could determine the direction of the franchise.

And despite an impressive third period when they nearly equalized on numerous occasions, the Blueshirts (20-19-6) started life without injured stars Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox — for the foreseeable future — with a loss. 

Jason Zucker (17) celebrates after scoring a second-period goal during the Rangers’ 5-2 loss to the Sabres on Jan. 8, 2026 at Madison Square Garden. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

The Rangers haven’t won a home game in regulation since Nov. 24. They failed to notch a win against a surging team — the Sabres won for the 12th time in 13 games — they’ll need to keep pace with as the playoff picture takes shape down the stretch, too. 

“We had the momentum in the third, the crowd was buzzing,” Sam Carrick said. “It felt like we were definitely gonna come back and at least tie it up and if not win it. But things happen in the game.” 

Mika Zibanejad celebrates with teammates after scoring a second-period goal during the Rangers’ loss to the Sabres. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Lafrenière only began that power play on the ice because Trocheck got cut while drawing the previous penalty, head coach Mike Sullivan said. The plan was for him to replace Lafrenière — the former No. 1 pick struggling again in his fifth year — after the Sabres dumped it down the ice for the first time.

But that plan changed after Lafrenière’s turnover just seconds into the power play, something head coach Sullivan said boiled down to “decision-making and execution” with the Blueshirts wanting to operate deeper in the Buffalo zone given their penalty-killing tendencies. 

That upended any progress from the third period, which Sullivan called their “best period in a while.” The Blueshirts controlled the game early, too. They produced two scoring opportunities just two minutes into the game off sloppy puck management by the Sabres.

But Will Cuylle whiffed on a shot. Colten Ellis tracked Taylor Raddysh’s deflection in front of the net.

And eventually, at the other end of the ice, Cuylle’s stick broke when he blocked a shot, and Josh Doan ended the sequence by flipping a puck past Jonathan Quick just 4:07 into the game. 

Matt Rempe (left) looks to take the puck away from Bowen Byram during the first period of the Rangers’ loss to the Sabres. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Then, the sloppy turnovers started, and their frustration started to boil over in the second period.

Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram dropped a puck back for Alex Tuch, and the Rangers’ deficit swelled to 2-0 when he slipped a shot into the net.

And if there was a sequence that captured this Rangers season, one where everything that could go wrong at the Garden has gone wrong, it unfolded just minutes after the Rangers responded in the second period with a Mika Zibanejad goal. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin fired a shot from the point on the power play. Quick made a pad save.

And the puck bounced off Jason Zucker’s leg and floated its way around Quick to make it 3-1. 

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Still, the Rangers nearly put themselves in position to salvage a point again after Trocheck scored 51 seconds into the third period and their strong push followed. Lafrenière’s gutting turnover followed, and the Blueshirts’ 20th home game of the season ended with the same inescapable reality in the same spiraling season. 

“All the things we’re asking them to do I thought were there,” Sullivan said of the third period. “We had a number of opportunities to tie the game. … We couldn’t seem to break through. We were all around the net. It’s unfortunate when they get the shorthanded goal because we had a pretty good opportunity there.”