Igor Shesterkin pulled in humiliating first period for Rangers.

The New York Rangers have not come out of the Four Nations Face-Off break looking good.

It is hard to imagine how the Rangers could have had a worse 20 minutes of hockey in their first game back after a two week break, with a humiliating effort against the Buffalo Sabres to welcome back the regular season.

The Rangers would give up a total of 5 goals in the opening first period, all of which flew past star netminder Igor Shesterkin who admittedly looked a little off after an extended break in the middle of the season. It was a poor team effort overall that would allow the lowly Buffalo Sabres to get 16 shots off on goal against Shesterkin in less than 20 minutes of play, with Shesterkin stopping 11 of those 16 shots on his way to a .688 save percentage.

It was perhaps Shesterkin who took the brunt of the Rangers poor effort, as not only were his numbers for the game abysmal but it wouldn't take long before head coach Peter Laviolette decided that he had seen enough. Shesterkin would play a total of just 18:21 in Saturday's game against the Sabres before being pulled in the first period and unsurprisingly he looked both dejected and frustrated on the bench after being taken out of the game.

A major mid season slump has left the Rangers in a precarious position when it comes to competing for a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs this season, and this uninspired return from an extended break certainly won't inspire confidence in their ability to battle their way back into the playoff picture.