Artem Anisimov scored his second goal of the game 1:32 into overtime to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
Anisimov forced a turnover in the Buffalo zone, and eventually found a loose puck in the slot for a shot past Buffalo backup goalie Jhonas Enroth.
Ruslan Fedotenko had a goal and assist, and Martin Biron made 29 saves as a late replacement for Henrik Lundqvist, who was forced to sit out after becoming sick during the day. New York got top scorer Marian Gaborik back in the lineup after he missed 12 games due to a separated shoulder, but he wasn't a factor on the score sheet.
Tyler Ennis and Mike Grier scored for Buffalo, which lost to New York for the second time this season.
The Sabres went to overtime for the third straight game after winning the previous two in shootouts. The Sabres pulled out a 5-4 win at New Jersey on Wednesday night with Enroth in net when Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk lost the puck off his stick without getting off a shot on the final attempt.
Enroth made 25 saves in his fourth appearance in five games in place of reigning Vezina Trophy winner Ryan Miller, who is sidelined because of a lower body injury.
Ennis scored the first of Buffalo's two tying goals of the second period with 4:27 left when he pushed a puck past Biron during a scramble in front. The Sabres were poised to go onto a power play, but Ennis' fourth of the season and second in two nights wiped out the penalty and made it 1-1.
The Rangers went back in front in a late-period scoring spree when Anisimov netted his fourth.
Shortly after Sabres coach Lindy Ruff burned his timeout to give his players a breather after and icing call, Brandon Dubinsky worked the puck behind the Buffalo net and fed a backhanded pass in front. Anisimov was all alone in the slot and fired a shot that squeezed past Enroth with only 47.5 seconds left in the middle frame.
That was the fifth consecutive Rangers goal, over two games, that gave them a one-goal lead, but New York couldn't protect any of the advantages. The Rangers squandered three one-goal leads on Tuesday in a 5-3 home loss to Washington.
Buffalo got even before the period ran out when Grier stuffed in his second of the season with just 2.9 seconds showing on the clock. Rob Niedermayer set up the goal with a pass in front.
New York had only four shots in the second period despite having a 5-on-3 power play that lasted 39 seconds. Rangers coach John Tortorella used his timeout after the second penalty was whistled to give his power-play unit a rest, but it wasn't enough to produce a goal.
