NEW YORK — Patrick Kaleta banked in a rebound off goalie Henrik Lundqvist 2:22 into overtime and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Sunday night to snap an eight-game losing streak on the road.
Adam Mair gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead with 5:57 left in regulation before Brandon Dubinsky tied it.
Dubinsky rescued the Rangers from a second shutout in two days when he crashed the net and scored his 16th goal to make it 1-1 with 1:23 remaining. New York had gone 149 minutes, 30 seconds without a goal, dating to the second period of a 5-4 home loss in overtime to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
It was enough to give the Rangers a much-needed point in the standings, but not enough to prevent New York's losing streak from reaching three (0-1-2).
Mair had been back on the ice for only 16 seconds following his holding penalty when he scored his fourth of the season, but second in two games for the Sabres, who were on an 0-6-2 skid away from Buffalo. They have never lost nine consecutive road games. Buffalo is 3-6-2 in its last 11.
Ryan Miller was solid in making 35 saves. He outdueled Lundqvist, who stopped 30 shots in a matchup of Olympic goalies.
Lundqvist was under less pressure than in his previous appearance two games earlier when he faced 55 shots in the loss to Pittsburgh three days earlier. That effort earned him a night off Saturday when the Rangers were shut out 2-0 at Washington, despite the return of Marian Gaborik from injury.
Veteran goalie Alex Auld played well in Washington in his Rangers debut, but received no offensive support.
Gaborik, who missed all but 4 minutes of New York's three games before the Olympic break because of a deep cut in his thigh, injured a groin while playing for Slovakia in Vancouver. That ailment forced him to sit out the Rangers' first two games after NHL play resumed this week.
Gaborik logged over 20 minutes Saturday, but was largely ineffective according to coach John Tortorella. Gaborik had to convince Tortorella during pregame warmups that he was ready to play — physically and mentally — to keep his place in the lineup.
New York scored 17 goals during Gaborik's absence, but the offensive surge abruptly ended when the top-line forward returned.
The teams played fairly even hockey over the first two periods. Buffalo trailed 22-21 in shots during the scoreless 40 minutes and had the only two power plays.
The Rangers had the best scoring chance when a puck got behind Miller in the first period and was swept out of the crease by the hand of Kaleta. Miller had been neutralized on the play when Rangers forward Sean Avery fell over him moments earlier.
Notes
Newly acquired Sabres LW Raffi Torres had a career-best six-game point streak snapped. … Rangers C Brian Boyle played in his 100th NHL game. … New York is 1-1-1 against Buffalo this season, dropping both meetings at home. … The Sabres have scored two goals or fewer in 10 of 15 games.