• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Rozsival goal in second OT lifts Rangers over Sabres

Apr 30, 2007 - 1:05 AM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Michal Rozsival ended the frustration for the New York Rangers.

The Czech defenseman blasted a shot from the right point past the stick side of Ryan Miller with 3:17 left in the second overtime to lift the Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game Three of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday.

The Rangers had lost six straight games to Buffalo - four in the regular season and two in the postseason - before finally breaking through at home to pull within two games to one in this series.

Game Four is here Tuesday night.

New York's Jaromir Jagr and Buffalo's Chris Drury were the most likely candidates to score the winner - each has four playoff overtime goals.

Instead, it was Rozsival who recorded his first career playoff overtime goal a day after he missed practice with a bruised right knee.

"It's just a great feeling. We really needed the win," said Rozsival, who logged more than 38 minutes of ice time.

"That's what champions look like," New York coach Tom Renney said of Rozsival. "My guess is that he won't be the only guy that's aching, sore and all those kinds of things as you wade your way through a playoff series. Those guys who get the opportunity to lift the Stanley Cup are pretty beat up and Rosey's a pretty good example of that."

It was the first double-overtime playoff game for the Rangers since Stephane Matteau scored the winner in Game Seven of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals against New Jersey. It also ended New York's longest game since Pete Stemkowski scored 1:29 into the third overtime in a 3-2 win over Chicago on April 29, 1971.

After being shut down in the first two games, Jagr played a major role for the Rangers. He scored 33 seconds into the second period to give New York a 1-0 lead and then screened Miller on Rozsival's game-winning goal.

Michael Nylander gave Rozsival the puck near the right point and the defenseman fired a shot that surprised Miller, who had his vision blocked by Jagr.

"I just heard a post ring and then I turned around and everybody was jumping off the bench, so I knew it went in," Rozsival said.

"No, (I didn't see it)," Miller said of Rozsival's goal. "I was looking a little bit more on the left side of the play. I don't know if he drove in or not but it came through traffic and I didn't get a good look."

Drury actually had a chance to win the game for Buffalo just before Rozsival's third goal of the playoffs, but was stopped by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on a wraparound attempt.

"Initially after an overtime game, you're frustrated you didn't win," Drury said. "But when you look at the big picture, you knew it was going to be a hard series. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. They got a lot of great players and they play well at home."

Buffalo nearly won the game with 54 seconds left in the first overtime when a shot by Derek Roy rang off the post and skipped through the crease.

The loss snapped the Sabres' five-game winning streak in the playoffs. They won the last three games against the New York Islanders in the conference quarterfinals.

"Those are all tough," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think anytime you lose in the playoffs, it's a tough feeling but I think it's all a little bit worse when you go through a game like that where you battle hard and lose one, and it's one of those where the shot found a way to get through."

The Rangers outshot Buffalo, 46-39. They also killed off eight of nine power plays, including six in a row.

Jagr scored his 70th career playoff goal, stuffing in a loose puck in the crease that had slithered through Miller's pads.

Miller stopped Jagr's shot from the left circle, but Martin Straka crashed the net and jammed at the rebound, managing to sneak it through Miller's pads. However, the puck settled short of passing the goal line before Jagr rammed it into the net.

"I went to battle on the boards and I had a chance to go to the net," Jagr said. "I was shooting and nobody got the rebound. The puck was laying there."

The goal had to be especially sweet for Jagr, who had a point-blank shot in front stopped by Miller with 28 seconds left in the third period of Friday's 3-2 loss.

"I had a lot of good feelings about this game," Jagr said. "The way we played in Buffalo, we just had a little bad luck. Now we got some luck go our way."

The Rangers thought they had a 2-0 lead when defenseman Karel Rachunek appeared to have scored with 16:24 left in the second period.

Once again, it was Jagr who started the play, backhanding the puck from behind the net to Marcel Hossa in the lower left circle. Hossa deftly slid a pass across to Rachunek, who charged the net and kicked the puck with his right skate past Miller.

The play was ruled a goal by on-ice officials, but Ruff called for a video review. Although it appeared that Rachunek inadvertently deflected the puck in with his skate, the goal was disallowed because a distinct kicking motion had been made.

It turned out to be a huge call when Daniel Briere tied the game with a power-play goal with 7:46 left in the third period.

The Sabres had failed to score on their first six chances with the man advantage before New York's Brendan Shanahan was whistled for cross-checking Ales Kotalik with 8:59 remaining.

Briere made the Rangers pay for that penalty when he fired a shot from the left faceoff circle that deflected off the left thigh of defenseman Daniel Girardi and went past Lundqvist, who was screened by Drury.

Both goalies made brilliant saves to keep the game tied through regulation.

Lundqvist stopped Thomas Vanek from the left circle with 3:47 left and thwarted a wraparound attempt by Maxim Afinogenov with 2:55 remaining.

Miller made a pad save on a blast from the right circle by Nylander with 2:18 left and stopped Nylander again from the slot with 33 seconds remaining.

Buffalo won three regular-season games against the Rangers in overtime or shootout.