BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- While the Buffalo Sabres loathed the result, the New York Rangers loved it.

Alexandre Daigle scored early in the third period to lift the slumping Rangers into a 1-1 tie with the Sabres on Saturday night.

	Buffalo backup netminder Dwayne Roloson made the most of his chance to start, stopping 26 shots.

"I think we have to feel good about ourselves," Daigle said. "Buffalo talked in the paper about wanting to come out hard tonight, but that wasn't the case. We outplayed them, we outworked them."

Buffalo rookie Maxim Afinogenov scored, and backup goalie Dwayne Roloson made 26 saves for Buffalo, including one on a breakaway by Theoren Fleury in the middle of the second period.

"That was one disappointing point for us," Sabres wing Geoff Sanderson said. "That should have been a win. We just got away from shooting the puck and getting it in deep."

New York goalie Mike Richter made 25 saves, one of them a big stop on Miroslav Satan with 50 seconds left in regulation. Richter also stopped a shot by Afinogenov with 1:39 left in overtime, and turned back a 60-foot slap shot by Sanderson with 50 seconds to go.

"From start to finish, it was probably our best game of the year, especially defensively," New York coach John Muckler said. "I think we had seven 2-on-1 breaks; I didn't see that many from our team all year. But you've got to bury those chances."

Buffalo has failed to win in four straight games at home, including three losses. The Rangers were seeking their first victory over Buffalo in three seasons.

Buffalo extended its unbeaten streak against New York to 11 games (7-0-4), including five shutouts. The Rangers last beat the Sabres on Dec. 13, 1996.

The Sabres finally came alive to produce 11 shots in the third period and four in overtime after being held to 11 shots through the first two, including three in the second.

"We were too cute," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "We can't play a pretty game. It doesn't work."

Afinogenov's goal at 12:04 of the first held up through two periods, in which Roloson (1-3-2) made 21 stops.

"We didn't start paying until the third," Sabres wing Dixon Ward said. "Rollie held us in there."

The Rangers won at Madison Square Garden on Friday night for only the fourth time this season and first since Oct. 17. New York has won only two of its last eight games.

The Sabres lost the majority of faceoffs and were outshot in the first period, but Buffalo created eight scoring chances to four for New York.

One of them paid off when Buffalo pounced on a giveaway in the New York zone by rookie defenseman Kim Johnsson, whose errant cross-ice pass was collected by Sanderson.

Sanderson passed to Stu Barnes at the bottom of the circle to Richter's right. Barnes centered the puck to Afinogenov for the easy goal and a 1-0 Buffalo lead.

The speedy Sanderson, who has four goals and five assists, was playing for the first time since being benched for three games by Ruff for not contributing to the offense.

The Rangers tied it 2:18 into the third. The puck hopped over defenseman Jason Woolley's stick at the Buffalo blue line, and Daigle took a pass from Tim Taylor and fired the puck just inside the post on Roloson's stick side.

New York defenseman Mathieu Schneider left the game in the first period and did not return until the third. Schneider lost three teeth in a collision with a teammate.

Rangers wing Valeri Kamensky and center Peter Nedved did not play because of injuries.

Kamensky, who suffered a sprained wrist in the first period against the Canadiens on Friday night, and Nedved, who suffered a groin injury Thursday in practice, are both listed as day-to-day.