TORONTO - With 11 minutes 38 seconds remaining in the third period of a game filled with meaning and drama, the Toronto Maple Leafs elevated it to theatre.
Clinging to a one-goal lead that might have meant the difference between a playoff berth and an early end to the season, defenceman Paul Ranger shoved an opposing player onto his own goaltender. Jonathan Bernier, who had been dealing with a groin issue, needed a trainer, and then he needed help off the ice.
James Reimer, the goaltender who had been all but shelved by the coaching staff, was in the net. It was Reimer who helped the Leafs to their first playoff appearance in a decade last season, just as it was Reimer who was in net when the Boston Bruins - the visiting team on Thursday night - rallied from a three-goal deficit to win Game 7 of their first-round playoff series in overtime last spring.
As mentioned earlier: Theatre.
Reimer allowed a goal minutes later. Bergeron scored it, naturally.
Toronto was out-shot 17-5 in that third period, but Reimer held on long enough to secure at least a point. In overtime, Nazem Kadri scored to secure another day of hope inside the locker room, helping the Leafs to a 4-3 win over the best team in the Eastern Conference.
The Leafs stayed a point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card spot, after the Blue Jackets won their game Thursday night. Columbus also has two games in hand on Toronto. The Leafs are down to their final four.
'I tried to hold the boys in there and keep it close,' Reimer said. 'It was a good feeling.'
Leafs coach Randy Carlyle was evasive on Bernier's status, invoking the dreaded 'lower body injury' while saying the goaltender would undergo an MRI to determine the extent of the problem. His status for Toronto's next game, at home against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday - the final home game of the regular season - is unclear.
That could mean the Leafs will go back to Reimer, who stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced in relief against the Bruins.
'We needed that,' Carlyle said. 'He needed that.'
Boston was on the business end of a back-to-back, though, having rolled into town after a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings one night earlier. The Bruins had already clinched first place in the Atlantic division, and they were also closing in on the conference.
The desperation scales were tipped to begin with.
Toronto was forced to play without forward Joffrey Lupul, who was made a surprise last-minute scratch with an undisclosed lower-body injury. It was not immediately made clear exactly which part of his lower body was the root cause.
The Leafs overcame the initial concern to resume being the kind of hockey team that held a playoff spot earlier in the year. They were outshot in the first period - by one shot, to be fair - but still held a lead heading into first intermission.
They were trapped in their own zone for long stretches in the second period, but did not concede a goal. They actually added to their lead.
Toronto jumped ahead, at 2-1, on a goal from Tyler Bozak. His main contribution to the play was having a torso, and having that torso positioned by the net. Phil Kessel had lofted the puck across the face of goal in the final seconds of the first period, banking it off Bozak and past goaltender Chad Johnson.
The good fortune continued in the next period. The Leafs were up 3-1 when the Bruins broke out on a two-on-one rush. Defenceman Tim Gleason dropped to break up the pass in front, but ended up redirecting it on goal - a redirection Bernier was able to stop.
And the good fortune continued after he left, with Reimer in net.
'I thought he did great,' Bozak said. 'He's done great for us all year. He's given us a chance to win every time he's played.'
Post By http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/04/03/toronto-maple-leafs-edge-boston-bruins-in-overtime-to-keep-slim-playoff-hopes-alive/
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