Leafs overcome late deficit, nip Sens in OT
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Brewer scored with 1:43 remaining in overtime and Toronto overcame a pair of two-goal deficits to claim a 4-3 decision over Ottawa at Air Canada Centre.
Tyler Bozak helped the hosts by recording his first career hat trick, including the game-tying marker with 1:24 left in regulation for the Maple Leafs, with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk adding three assists apiece.
"Coming throught late in the game, that's what you want to see," Toronto coach Peter Horacheck said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}James Reimer earned the win thanks to a 22-save effort.
Curtis Lazar, Mike Stone and Kyle Turris scored for the Senators, who have lost two in a row since winning seven straight.
Ottawa crept within one point back of Boston in the race for the final wild- card spot in the East. The Bruins topped the Rangers, 4-2, earlier Saturday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Craig Anderson made his return to the lineup for the first time since March 10 and made 27 stops in defeat.
"It's a 60-minute game and you have to play it out. You give teams time and space and it comes back to bite you," Anderson said.
Bozak capped his trifecta with Reimer on the bench for an extra attacker, moving into the slot to deflect van Riemsdyk's centering pass to send the game into overtime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Once there, Bozak skated up the right wing to accept a Kessel feed and unloaded in an attempt to net his fourth goal of the night. That shot was smothered in front, but the rebound kicked into the slot where Brewer's second whack produced the deciding marker.
Anderson denied Toronto's best chance to hit the scoreboard in the first period, stopping a Joakim Lindstrom penalty shot at the 11:14 mark.
Ottawa seized control with two goals in a span of 1:34 early in the second period.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stone took a Clarke MacArthur feed and scored at 4:25, then Lazar fanned on a Jean-Gabriel Pageau pass but the fluttering puck threw off Reimer's timing and sailed home one second shy of the six-minute mark.
Bozak put the Leafs on the board at 4:13 of the third, but Turris restored the Sens' two-goal edge on a power play at 9:30.
Bozak countered on the advantage at 11:29.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Prior to Saturday, Bozak recorded 10 two-goal efforts, with the last occurring on Nov. 29 against Washington ... Toronto hosts Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Ottawa entertains Florida on Sunday.