The New York Rangers have gone from being unable to win a single game against the Buffalo Sabres to the very real prospect of evening their series at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.

The Sabres lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal 2-1 but the complexion of the series changed, at least temporarily, after a huge Ranger victory in Game 3 on Sunday.

New York's Jaromir Jagr, left, scored his first goal of the series in the team's Game 3 win.
(Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Facing the prospect that the next shot could put them down 3-0 in the series, the Rangers took the game in double overtime when Michal Rozsival's shot from the point went past screened goaltender Ryan Miller.

It was the first time in seven regular season and playoff games New York had defeated Buffalo, giving the Rangers cause for optimism.

"If you look back at our season series, three of the games went into overtime and they still found ways to win," said forward Brendan Shanahan. "And then in Game 2, we really felt we deserved to win. But again we didn't.

"So regardless of how you feel about how you're playing, you're still saying you're 0-6 against a team. So it was important to get that first win."

The Rangers survived a stretch in regulation and overtime where they were cited for six consecutive minor penalties before the next Buffalo infraction.

Jaromir Jagr had staked New York to a 1-0 lead before Daniel Briere of the Sabres tied the contest late in the third.

Several New York veterans said they received a lift in the nerve-wracking overtime from the poise displayed by young defencemen Fedor Tyutin and Dan Girardi, who celebrated his 23rd birthday the day of the victory.

Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, meanwhile, showed the form that has been on regular display since the NHL all-star break, making 38 saves. 

"The devil was there even before we started the series about whether we could beat Lundqvist. Everybody was saying this guy's as hot as hot can be," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said on Monday.

"I don't know if we're going to get more than two, possibly get three [goals] the rest of the series. He's that good. He's been playing that good in the playoffs. We might have to win 1-0."

Ruff said he emphasized to his often high-flying players that sometimes they need to make safe choices instead of trying to dazzle.

The Buffalo coach also said Tim Connolly, who missed most of the regular season due to the effects of a concussion, could be bumped up from the fourth line on Tuesday night.

Connolly is still looking for his first playoff goal but has assists in three of the past four games.

The Rangers-Sabres battle is the only one of the four remaining series in which the home team has yet to lose a game.

The series will shift back to Buffalo for Game 5 on Friday.