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NEW YORK -- Henrik Lundqvist was at his busiest when the only thing really in doubt was whether he would skate off with a shutout. The rest of the New York Rangers took care of beating the lowly Buffalo Sabres up and down the ice. Lundqvist made 29 saves in his 47th NHL shutout, and Derick Brassard and Chris Kreider provided the offence in the Rangers 2-0 win over the Sabres on Thursday night. "This is definitely a game we wanted to win and needed to win," said Lundqvist, who served as the backup when the Rangers beat the New York Islanders on Tuesday. "The way we started the game, we set the tone right away. "We did so many good things. I thought we were all over them pretty much the whole game." Ryan Miller shined in defeat as he turned aside 44 shots just to keep his struggling club in it. Lundqvist, who missed two games last week while nursing an injury, lost 2-0 to Montreal in the home opener on Monday -- one night before watching backup Cam Talbot beat the Islanders. Lundqvist was tested the most in the final few minutes as Buffalo pressed to at least avoid the shutout. Lundqvist stopped a shot with the top of his helmet, deflecting the puck into the crowd, and then robbed Marcus Foligno with 1:20 remaining after Miller was pulled for an extra skater. The Sabres had only one power play. "The last five or six minutes they came a little harder," Lundqvist said, "but we deserved this one for sure." Brassard scored a power-play goal in the first period, and Kreider netted his second in two games in the middle period to power Lundqvists third win and second shutout this season. The Rangers (5-7), who played 10 of their first 11 on the road, began a four-game homestand in workmanlike fashion. They recorded a season-high 46 shots. Buffalo lost its third straight and is a league-worst 2-12-1. The Sabres have been shut out three times. "If we want this to stop, it will stop," Miller said. "Everyone has to increase their intensity. When everyone wants this to stop, it will. You have to work your way out of it. "We have to play hard and work hard for each other. We have to have the right approach. Were searching. Enough is enough." The Rangers followed up a dominant first period with an identical 19-shot outburst in the second. The only thing that kept the game close was Miller. "Ryan made some extraordinary saves," said newly acquired forward Matt Moulson, who played his second game with the Sabres. "He really kept us in the game. It could have been more than 2-0." Miller could hardly be faulted for Kreiders goal with 8:39 left in the second. He stopped a drive by Mats Zuccarello and blocked it to his right. Kreider got to the rebound along the goal line and banked a shot off the back of Miller from a tough angle for his second in two games. "Thats a play Ive tried a lot," Kreider said. "I dont know that its ever worked for me. I threw it back out front, because you dont have any other option. You see the goalie is a little bit out, and best case it goes in. "It was a whole lot of luck." Lundqvist made fine stops in the closing minute of the second to deny Drew Stafford and Jamie McBain from the doorstep. Buffalo doubled its shot output to 12 in the period, but the Sabres were outshot 38-18 through two. The Sabres put pressure on the Rangers after the games opening faceoff, and New York had breakdowns in front of Lundqvist. But Buffalo was kept at bay, and then the Rangers dominated. New York was buoyed by a pair of power plays -- the first resulting in the go-ahead goal. "We had a good start to the game, but the second half of the first period, it wasnt there," Sabres coach Ron Rolston said. "We went to the box, and they built up a lot of momentum. "Our first couple of shifts were good ... but it swung quickly after that." With Tyler Myers off for tripping, Brassard wound up for a drive from above the right circle that found its way through traffic and a screen by J.T. Miller in front of Miller to make it 1-0 at 8:28. It was Brassards second of the season, and the Rangers third power-play goal in two games. Another advantage later in the first produced only one shot. Buffalo had its lone power play in the final two minutes of the period and recorded one shot. NOTES: The Rangers were without C Dominic Moore, who is expected to be sidelined seven to 10 days because of a strained oblique muscle. ... Sabres forward John Scott served the fourth game of a seven-game suspension for a check to the head of Boston forward Loui Eriksson. ... Rangers D Dan Girardi played in his 500th NHL game. D Marc Staal played in his 400th. ... The Sabres have been outscored 20-2 in the first period. ... New York was 5 for 32 on the power play before the past two games. Doug Williams Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Darrell Green Redskins Jersey . The Brazilian heads into Saturday afternoons race coming off a close runner-up finish to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Terry-Mclaurin-Jersey/ . The time off didnt slow them down. Tyler Zeller scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds, Kyrie Irving added 14 points and the Cavaliers pushed their winning streak to five games Tuesday night with a 114-85 victory over the skidding Philadelphia 76ers. Landon Collins Jersey . JOHNS, N. Earnest Byner Jersey .com) - Stanley Johnson had 18 points and No. CHICAGO -- It was just one pitch, but Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers can only hope it turns out to be a turning point in their season. Verlander turned in one of his most effective outings this year and once again beat the White Sox, leading the Detroit Tigers past Chicago 7-1 Friday night. The right-hander showed some of his former Cy Young form, particularly to wiggle out of a jam in the first inning. After Verlanders wild pickoff throw set up a sacrifice fly by Adam Dunn, Verlander reached back to strike out Tyler Flowers on a 95 mph fastball and leave the bases loaded. "Yeah, you cant put your team in a 3-0 deficit right away," Verlander said. "I made a bad throw to allow those guys to score an easy run. Once the bases are loaded, youre thinking, All right, just leave the damage where its at and make a pitch here." Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was also glad to see Verlander get out of the tough spot. "Ive always said the first inning is the toughest inning for a starter," Ausmus said. "To get out of the inning was very important." The contending Tigers won for the fifth time in six games. Chicago has lost nine of 10. Verlander (12-11) beat the White Sox for the 14th time in 18 decisions since June 10, 2009 -- the most wins by any pitcher against a single team in that span. The former AL MVP allowed one run and nine hits in seven innings. It was the first time this year that he allowed fewer than two runs in a game. "Im just trying to execute better pitches, not walk so many guys and get ahead in the count," said Verlander, whose numbers began to trend upward since the All-Star break. "I know (the talent) is still there to be the guy I want to be. I just got to find it." Verlander matched his season high with eight strikeouts and walked two. Seven of the strikeouts came in his last three innings. "The first half of his game was good," Ausmus said. "The second half was very good." J.D. Martinez had a double and two singles for Detroit. The Tigers got 13 hits, including five doubles. Scott Carroll (5-9) took the loss but didnt get much support in the fielld.ddddddddddddHe allowed seven runs, only three of which were earned. First baseman Jose Abreu had three hits for Chicago, but his two errors helped the Tigers score five times in the fourth for a 7-1 lead. After Victor Martinez hit a grounder that handcuffed Abreu for an error, Nick Castellanos groundout and Alex Avilas double drove in two runs. Eugenio Suarez followed with a single before Ezequiel Carreras high bouncer glanced off the tip of Abreus glove for a run-scoring miscue. Ian Kinslers fielders choice groundout and Torii Hunters double capped the rally. Abreu left the game after the seventh because of what appeared to be a minor hamstring injury. "Hes fine," manager Robin Ventura said. "I think hes just tired." TRAINERS ROOM Tigers: RHP Joakim Soria resumed his throwing program before the game, when he threw off flat ground for the third time this week. The hope is that his strained left oblique will not require a second stint on the disabled list, but there is no timetable for the relievers return. White Sox: OF Moises Sierra went hitless in four at-bats on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte. He is on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left oblique. UP NEXT The Tigers will send RHP Max Scherzer (15-4, 3.13) to the mound against LHP Chris Sale (10-3, 2.03) in the opener of a split doubleheader on Saturday. Tigers LHP Kyle Ryan and White Sox RHP Chris Bassitt are scheduled to make their major league debuts in the nightcap. REED GETS CALL Prior to the game, the Tigers purchased the contract of RHP Evan Reed from Triple-A Toledo and designated RHP Jose Ortego for assignment. Reed had a 0-1 record and 4.88 earned run average in 27 games for the Tigers this season. He replaced LHP Kyle Lobstein, who was sent to the Triple-A affiliate the previous night. LITTLE BIG MEN The White Sox plan to honour the Jackie Robinson West Little League team on Chicagos South Side before the second game of the doubleheader. The team became the first all-black squad to win the United States championship before losing to South Korea in the Little League title game. ' ' '