Chris Drury scored the biggest goal of Buffalo’s season Friday night, tying Game 5 when he put a shot from a sharp angle past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist with just 7.7 seconds remaining. The Sabres were down 1-0 despite putting nearly 40 shots on Lundqvist, and they were seconds away from heading back to Madison Square Garden to face an elimination game, down three games to two.

Drury’s goal completely changed the complexion of the series for the Sabres, who prevailed when Maxim Afinogenov -- a healthy scratch in Game 4 -- buried the game-winner 4:39 into overtime.

If the Game 5 loss didn’t suck the life out of the Rangers, four second-period goals by the Sabres in Game 6 all but did the trick. The Rangers managed to pull to within one goal twice in the final 20 minutes, but in the end, it was the Sabres and not the Rangers who celebrated the series win at the Garden on Sunday.

The Sabres finished first in the NHL in goals and led the Eastern Conference in team points in 2006-07, but it all nearly went down the drain at the hands of Lundqvist. Drury scored a goal as important as any that wasn’t the overtime game-winner in Game 7.

Now that they have moved on, the Sabres face an even bigger test in division rival Ottawa. Beating Senators goalie Ray Emery is another difficult assignment. The Sabres also must not beat themselves by having a mental letdown after such a dramatic end to their series with New York.

Buffalo is in search of its first Stanley Cup championship. If the Sabres make it happen, it’s possible no goal will be bigger than Drury’s against the Rangers. An overtime goal in one of the next two series may be remembered longer, but that memory wouldn’t have been possible without Drury.