Sabres pull one out to take lead

Maxim Afinogenov made up for all the trouble that got him benched.

The flashy Sabres forward, who sat out Game 4, scored a power-play goal 4:39 into overtime in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Friday night, moving host Buffalo to within a win of the Eastern Conference finals.

Chris Drury forced overtime by scoring with less than 8 seconds left as the Sabres finally beat goalie Henrik Lundqvist with their 37th shot on goal.

Buffalo rebounded from two defeats at New York – the Sabres’ first losing streak since March – and a 1-0 deficit Friday to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series that shifts to Manhattan for Game 6 on Sunday. If necessary, a deciding game would be held Tuesday back in Buffalo.

Afinogenov’s goal came 11 seconds after New York’s Blair Betts was penalized for hooking.

Off the ice

Nashville general manager David Poile picked up the option on coach Barry Trotz and his staff for next season as a reward for the best regular season in franchise history. … Detroit re-signed forward Kirk Maltby to a three-year contract before the playoffs, but the deal was not announced until recently.