The Toronto Maple Leafs kept their flickering playoff hopes alive with a 5-4 shootout win over the Boston Bruins at home on Tuesday night.

Darcy Tucker, Toronto’s second shooter, scored the only goal of the shootout, deking and slipping the puck past Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas.

Leafs goalie Mikael Tellqvist stopped Marco Sturm, Boston’s final shooter, to seal the victory for Toronto.
With the win, the Leafs moved to seven points behind the idle Montreal Canadiens, who hold the eighth playoff spot in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. Boston is 11 points behind Montreal.

Mats Sundin led Toronto on Tuesday night with two goals and an assist. Jason Allison and Bryan McCabe also tallied for the Leafs, who have earned seven of a possible eight points in their last four games.

“It wasn’t an easy game, we gave up a lot defensively,” said Sundin, who tallied his second two-goal game in four contests after failing to record a multi-goal game in his first 47 games this season. “But (Tellqvist) gave us a chance to win, and he won it for us in the end in the shootout.”

Sturm had two goals for the Bruins, with Glen Murray and Marty Reasoner adding the others.
Boston led 4-2 late in the second period before the Leafs scored a pair of goals 35 seconds apart, both with a five-on-three advantage, to tie the game.

Tellqvist, making his second consecutive start in place of the injured Ed Belfour, stopping 28 of 32 shots.
Belfour is day to day with a back injury, according to the team.

Toronto, which plays seven of its next eight games on the road, visits the streaking Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Ps…….Yeeeeee Haaawww!!! Here we come baby. Comeback trail.
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