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Avery scores from center ice as New York beats Thrashers

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, left, deflects a shot against the New York Islanders' Randy Robitaille, not shown, during the third period of their NHL playoff game at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York on Saturday. The Islanders won 3-2 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the playoff series. PHOTO: AP

Sean Avery ricocheted a fluke goal off the boards from center ice and Brendan Shanahan scored the winner with 4:01 remaining to lift the New York Rangers over the Atlanta Thrashers 2-1 in the NHL playoffs on Saturday.

New York has a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.

Shanahan's 54th career playoff goal came after Ilya Kovalchuk tied the game at 1 for the Thrashers with 14:25 remaining.

The series moves to Madison Square Garden for game three tomorrow. The next two games are in New York, giving the Rangers a chance to clinch the series without coming back to Atlanta.

Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves for the victory.

Atlanta's Johan Hedberg, who replaced Kari Lehtonen in the nets after game one, was sharp in stopping 37 shots.

Penguins 4, Senators 3

At Ottawa, Sidney Crosby scored his second goal in two career playoff games 11:44 into the third period to lift Pittsburgh over Ottawa, evening the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at one win apiece.

Crosby, who scored a power-play goal in Wednesday's 6-3 defeat that opened the series, scored Pittsburgh's third goal of the third period at 11:44.

The Penguins tied it twice in the final frame before the 19-year-old NHL scoring champion gave them their second and final lead.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped Mike Fisher's shot from the slot with 13.1 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Fleury made 34 saves as Ottawa outshot Pittsburgh 37-21 overall, including 20-5 in the second period.

Gary Roberts and Jordan Staal scored tying goals earlier in the period and Crosby assisted on Ryan Whitney's power-play goal early in the first.

Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza each had a goal and assist in the second to give Ottawa a 2-1 lead. Chris Kelly put Ottawa up 3-2 6:18 into the third.

The Senators have never led a playoff series 2-0. Ottawa lost for the seventh straight time after winning the opener.

Lightning 3, Devils 2

At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Vincent Lecavalier scored early in the third period to break a tie and Johan Holmqvist made 34 saves to lead Tampa Bay over New Jersey.

The first-round, Eastern Conference playoff series is tied at one victory for each team.

Martin St. Louis and Filip Kuba also scored for the Lightning, who will host the next two games starting today.

Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner scored for the Devils, who squandered a 2-1 lead late in the second period.

St. Louis tied the game with less than a minute left in the middle frame with a goal from a bad angle -- shot from along the goal line -- that somehow eluded Martin Brodeur.

Lecavalier got the winner and his third of the series by getting behind the Devils' defense and deflecting a shot from point by Paul Ranger at 1:42 of the third period.

Islanders 3, Sabres 2

At Buffalo, New York, Rick DiPietro bounced back from a pair of concussions to stop 32 shots in his first game in three weeks and Marc-Andre Bergeron scored the go-ahead goal eight minutes into the third period to lead New York over top-seeded Buffalo.

Trent Hunter and Bruno Gervais also scored, helping New York tie the first-round series at 1, with game three at Long Island today.

The Sabres started sloppy, allowing New York to take a 2-0 lead 11 minutes in.

Defensemen Toni Lydman and Dmitri Kalinin scored for the Sabres, who finished the regular season with a league-leading 53 wins and 308 goals.

The Islanders seemed to be hanging on before Bergeron scored a power-play goal with 11:23 left -- and six minutes after Kalinin tied the game.
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