(Sports Network) - The Buffalo Sabres will try to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals this afternoon, when they visit the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Buffalo grabbed a two-game edge in this best-of-seven set by taking two straight games on home ice to begin the series. After winning the opener at HSBC Arena by a 5-2 count, the top-seeded Sabres followed with a 3-2 triumph in Game 2 on Friday.

Thomas Vanek was the hero in the second game for Buffalo, as he scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period to lift the Sabres to the close decision.

Vanek has been excellent this postseason and is tied with Chris Drury for the club lead in goals (5) and points (7) in the playoffs. The 23-year-old Austrian also led Buffalo with 43 tallies during the regular season.

Drury and Brian Campbell each had a goal and an assist in Game 2 for the Sabres. Campbell has been Buffalo's leading scorer amongst defensemen in the postseason, as he has notched three goals and three assists.

Ryan Miller made 31 saves, including several big stops in the final minutes for Buffalo, which has won five straight playoff games and hasn't lost since the second game of the series against the New York Islanders.

The 26-year-old Miller continued to impress in the postseason and is now 17-8 lifetime in playoff contests. He is 6-1 this year with a 2.15 goals against average and .925 save percentage.

The sixth-seeded Rangers so far have been unable to carry over their first- round success against the Atlanta Thrashers, who were swept in four games by New York. After scoring 17 goals in the four tests against Atlanta, the Rangers have managed just four total tallies in the two matchups with Buffalo.

Paul Mara and Martin Straka each scored in Game 2 for the Rangers, while Jaromir Jagr posted his first point of the series with an assist on Straka's goal.

Henrik Lundqvist made 15 saves in the losing effort for New York, which hasn't come back from an 0-2 deficit to win a series since the 1996 conference quarterfinals, when it rallied to defeat Montreal in six games.

The last time the Sabres lost a best-of-seven series after leading two games to none was in 1976, when the New York Islanders beat them in six contests during the Stanley Cup quarterfinals.

Buffalo has yet to lose to the Rangers this year, as the Sabres also swept four meetings from New York during the regular season.

Prior to this set, Buffalo and New York have met just once before in the postseason and that was back in 1978, when the Sabres beat the Rangers in the best-of-three preliminary round.

New York was 21-15-5 at MSG this year, while the Sabres were 25-12-4 as the visiting club during the regular season.

Game 4 of this series is slated for Tuesday evening in the Big Apple.