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Third-period rally sends Leafs over Sens

Sun 23rd, March 2008

Ottawa, ON (Sports Network) - Jiri Tlusty and Matt Stajan scored 41 seconds apart in the third period to help Toronto edge Ottawa, 5-4, at Scotiabank Place.

Darcy Tucker had a goal and an assist, while Kyle Wellwood and Alex Steen also tallied for the Maple Leafs, who have won three straight and five of their last six games overall. They are 12th in the conference, five points behind Boston and Philadelphia, which are tied for the seventh playoff spot in the East.

Vesa Toskala stopped 32-of-36 shots in the win, while Alexei Ponikarovsky and Pavel Kubina each had a pair of assists.

"We didn't run a short bench tonight," said Leafs head coach Paul Maurice. "It was great to see players like Wellwood hustle all shift, especially on the backcheck. Everyone knows they're going to get more playing time, so they can get into the flow of the game and put in a more consistent effort."

Cory Stillman had a goal and a helper for Ottawa, while Daniel Alfredsson, Martin Lapointe and Dany Heatley also scored. Jason Spezza and Christoph Schubert racked up two assists apiece, and Martin Gerber surrendered all five goals on 34 chances in the loss.

Ottawa failed to improve its playoff positioning and sits at fifth in the East, five back of Northeast Division-leading and current conference leader Montreal, which hosts the Sens on Monday.

Ottawa's seven final games are against division rivals.

A beautiful setup by Dominic Moore helped Toronto make it a 4-4 game to start the third period. Moore pounced on an Ottawa turnover, sent a forward pass to Tlusty and watched him score on the backhand attempt at 1:33.

Only 41 seconds later, Stajan made it 5-4 on a goal that nearly mirrored the previous one. The Senators again coughed the puck up in the neutral zone, and Stajan finished off the give-and-go by lifting the puck past a sprawling Gerber.

The Sens failed to generate any strong pressure until the final moments, and a last-second shot by Heatley rang off the near post.

Ottawa didn't waste much time in netting the game's first goal, as Alfredsson had two pokes at a rebound, batting the second attempt past Toskala at 2:56.

Toronto tied it up early in the second period while on the power play, as Kubina ripped a shot that caromed off the skate of Gerber and back out to the left circle. Wellwood caught the rebound on the blade of his stick and rifled it past the diving netminder at 4:14.

The visitors again capitalized on the man-advantage at 12:39, as Steen tapped in a feed from Ponikarovsky while stationed at the goalmouth, giving the Leafs a 2-1 edge.

The Sens answered quickly, notching goals just 58 seconds apart to take the lead. Stillman squared it when he pounded away at a loose puck and lifted it over Toskala at 15:04, and Lapointe followed with his fifth of the campaign to put the home squad on top, 3-2.

"The puck was dumped in and I was able to outrace Kubina to it," said Lapointe. "I tried to get separation, but couldn't, so I knew I had to get the puck out front. I then skated around looking for a clear area. (Mike) Fisher made a good pass right on my stick. I had an open net, so I just had to tap it in."

Lapointe's goal stood despite the protests of the Toronto bench that there were too many men on the ice, and Ottawa lit the lamp again at 17:31, as Andrej Meszaros' shot from the point caromed off the end boards and right to Heatley, who stuffed the puck inside the right post, marking the Sens' second power-play tally of the evening.

Tucker trimmed it to 4-3 when, as part of a two-on-two, he followed up on Kubina's shot and slapped the rebound past Gerber with 54 ticks left in the stanza.

Game Notes

Alfredsson has 55 points in 55 career games versus Toronto...Ottawa's Chris Neil returned after missing 13 games with a knee injury, while Chris Kelly suffered a left foot injury after blocking a shot in the first period and did not return...Ottawa fell to 29-1-4 when leading after two periods...The Senators took the first three season matchups with the Leafs, but have been outscored 17-6 in dropping the last four...Tomas Kaberle notched an assist for his 400th NHL point, all with Toronto. He is the 19th Maple Leaf to reach 400 points in franchise history.

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