Brendan Shanahan strike gives Rangers 2-0 series lead over Thrashers

The triumph by the Rangers was part of a Saturday sweep by the four visiting and lower seeded teams in Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Rangers, who picked up their first playoff victory since 1997 with a 4-3 decision in the opener, took their first 2-0 series lead since winning the Cup in 1994 -- and its first 2-0 lead with two road victories since 1983.

"We went to war and we needed to, because Atlanta was certainly desperate and played with a sense of urgency you would expect," New York coach Tom Renney told reporters after the game.

Sean Avery, whose late-season acquisition from Los Angeles was key to New York's playoff push, scored a bizarre first-period goal and then set up Shanahan's winner with four minutes remaining.

Avery, a lively forward, had nine shots on goal and has had 16 in the first two games of the series.

Avery registered his goal when his shot into the Atlanta zone took a strange bounce off the boards and eluded Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg, who replaced Kari Lehtonen after Game One and made 37 saves.

The 1-0 lead held up until Ilya Kovalchuk scored his first playoff goal 5:35 into the third period, but after being tied for the first time in the series, the Rangers controlled play the rest of the way.

*Rick DiPietro made 32 saves in his first game since March 24 and Marc-Andre Bergeron scored with 11:23 left to give the eighth-seeded New York Islanders a 3-2 win over the top seeded Sabres in Buffalo, tying that series at 1-1 with Game Three at Long Island on Monday.

*Vincent Lecavalier broke a 2-2 tie 1:42 into the third period and Johan Holmqvist made 34 saves to lead Tampa Bay to a 3-2 win over the Devils in New Jersey, knotting that series at 1-1. Game Three is in Florida on Monday.

*Jason Staal and Sidney Crosby scored goals 2:10 apart midway through the third period to lift the Penguins to a 4-3 victory at Ottawa that evened that series at 1-1 heading to Pittsburgh for Games Three on Sunday.