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Kadri gives Leafs crucial win over Bruins

Apr 4, 2014 - 3:53 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Nazem Kadri netted the game-winner with Toronto on the power play 2:51 into overtime, as the Leafs outlasted the Boston Bruins, 4-3, at Air Canada Centre.

Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron both lit the lamp in the third period to bring the Bruins even, but after Boston failed to score on a power play that stretched into overtime, the Leafs capitalized on their chance on the man- advantage.

With Boston's Torey Krug in the box for holding, Cody Franson fed the disc from the left point to the low left side, where Kadri roofed a shot over Chad Johnson to send Toronto to its second straight victory.

Paul Ranger, James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak each scored once for the Leafs, who kept pace with Columbus for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets, who blanked Philadelphia on Thursday, have 85 points, giving them a one-point lead over the Leafs with two games in hand.

Jonathan Bernier made 25 stops over two-plus periods for Toronto before leaving the game with 11:38 remaining in regulation after Bergeron landed awkwardly on top of his left leg. James Reimer stopped 10-of-11 shots in relief.

"He will have an MRI done and we will have a better idea probably (Friday)," Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle said of the injury to Bernier. "It's just a lower-body (injury) at this point."

Brad Marchand recorded Boston's other marker, while Johnson stopped 27 shots in the Bruins' second straight setback.

The Leafs led 3-1 after 40 minutes, but Lucic cut the margin in half 5:03 into the third when he one-timed a David Krejci feed past Bernier's glove from the high slot.

Toronto saw its starting netminder sustain an injury just over three minutes later when Ranger checked Bergeron into Bernier, who had his left leg trapped underneath his body.

Ranger was whistled for interference on the play, while Bernier skated gingerly to the locker room with the trainer at his side.

Reimer entered and helped kill off the Ranger minor to keep the margin at one, but Bergeron buried a one-timer from the slot off a Marchand feed at 12:51 to tie the tilt.

Toronto's Nikolai Kulemin went off for holding with 1:14 left in regulation, but the Bruins were unable to capitalize on the power play.

"(We had) too many ups and downs during the game," Bergeron admitted. "You don't win games if you don't play the 60 (minutes) in this league."

Early on, Ranger's fifth of the season gave Toronto a 1-0 lead six minutes into the game, but Marchand answered just 56 seconds later when he picked off a Franson feed in the high slot of the Toronto zone before rifling a shot high over Bernier's glove.

Phil Kessel helped set up Toronto's next two tallies, as his shot from below the left circle deflected in off Bozak on the low right side with 12.0 seconds left in the first to make it 2-1.

Less than a minute into the second, Kessel came up with a steal behind the Boston net and fed the disc to the front of the cage for van Riemsdyk, who ripped a shot past Johnson's blocker for a 3-1 lead 52 seconds into the frame.

Game Notes

Bergeron extended his point streak to 10 games, which ties a career best ... Van Riemsdyk scored his 30th goal of the season, giving him his first 30-goal campaign ... Toronto improved to 24-15-1 at home and will wrap up its home slate Saturday at Winnipeg before finishing the season on a three-game road trip ... Kessel and Franson each had two assists ... Boston went 0-for-3 on the power play.