Rangers finally end playoff dry spell

Matt Cullen banged in a shot off the crossbar and bounced the NewYork Rangers into the second round of the playoffs for the firsttime in a decade.

Cullen fired a rolling puck from just inside the blue line thatsmacked the iron and dropped on its side just over the goal line2:06 into the third period Wednesday night. It withstood a lengthyvideo review and snapped a tie, and the Rangers completed a four-game sweep of the visiting Atlanta Thrashers with a 4-2 victory.

New York, which earned its first home playoff victory since 1997a night earlier, won a postseason series for the first time sincethat year. It was the Rangers' first sweep since the opening roundof the 1994 playoffs and ended the Thrashers' first venture into thepostseason.

Cullen stepped into his series-winning shot, meeting the puck asit rolled on edge. It smacked the bar and landed as it was whenCullen let it go. Play continued for another 16 seconds untilHedberg stopped another scoring chance.

Cullen stretched and talked to teammate Petr Prucha while Hedbergstrolled during the five-minute video review. Finally, referee MikeHasenfratz hung up the phone with the NHL office in Toronto andpointed to center ice. Cullen was mobbed by teammates at the benchas Hedberg shook his head in the crease.

"They can take all night as long as they get it right," Rangerscoach Tom Renney said.

SABRES IN COMMAND: Chris Drury scored twice, and Ryan Miller made24 saves to help Buffalo beat the New York Islanders 4-2, giving thetop-seeded Sabres a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville also scored for the Sabres, inposition to end the series Friday night in Buffalo.

Jason Blake and Mike Sillinger scored for the Islanders, and RickDiPietro stopped 27 shots in his third start since returning from aconcussion.

DEVILS GET EVEN: New Jersey didn't need a spectacular game fromMartin Brodeur to even their playoff series against host Tampa Bay.A big night for Zach Parise and Scott Gomez's overtime goal wereenough.

Parise scored his fifth and sixth goals of the series, and Gomezblocked a shot then chased down the loose puck and skated in to blowthe winner past goalie Johan Holmqvist with 7:06 left in the extraperiod to give the Devils a 4-3 victory and tie the series at twogames apiece.

Brodeur had 30 saves, but squandered a two-goal lead in thesecond period. He has given up 12 goals in four games after enteringthe postseason with a career 1.89 goals-against average in 153playoff games.

Game 5 is Friday night in Nashville, where the Sharks willattempt to close out the Predators for the second straight spring.

SHARKS IN CHARGE: Milan Michalek scored two goals as host SanJose took a commanding lead in its first-round playoff series with a3-2 victory over Nashville.