Maple Leafs 4, Senators 3, OT

TORONTO (AP) -Darcy Tucker provided a spark and found a way to keep the Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff hopes alive.

Tucker's second goal of the game 3:11 into overtime lifted the Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the rival Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.

"All that we wanted was the two points ... I could feel it on the bench going into overtime, that sense of urgency," Tucker said.

Tucker one-timed a shot over goalie Ray Emery's left shoulder, as the Maple Leafs erased a pair of two-goal deficits as they kept pace in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. The Maple Leafs moved into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot with Carolina at 75 points.

"It's our biggest two points of the season," Tucker said. "I don't want to give you cliches, but that's what it comes down to.

"It could be one of the turning points of the season."

Nik Antropov and Boyd Devereaux had third-period goals for the Maple Leafs.

Emery made 41 saves for the Senators.

Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and Dany Heatley scored for the Senators, who won the season series 5-1-2.

Alfredsson opened the scoring at 14:06 of the first period by slipping in a rebound. Alfredsson made it 2-0 when he set up Fisher for a power-play goal in the second period, with Fisher beating Andrew Raycroft with a one-timer from the slot.

Tucker made it 2-1 with Toronto on a two-man advantage, finishing off a cross-ice pass from Mats Sundin.

Heatley scored a short-handed goal with a one-timer from the top of the faceoff circle to make it 3-1.

"That goal could have deflated us, but the way we were playing I think still gave us momentum heading into the third period," said Tucker. "We weren't sitting back, we were playing pretty good hockey at that point even thought it was 3-1."

Devereaux scored midway through the third to make it 3-2 before Antropov tied it at 3 with 4:02 left, knocking in his own rebound past Emery.

"I don't think our game was indicative of the score," Tucker said. "I thought that we controlled the play, we hit, we moved the puck, we drew penalties - we did everything that we wanted to do as a team, and we're down 3-1. We came in here (the dressing room) and we said, 'Guys, we have an opportunity to come back here. There's no reason why we can't come back in the third period."'

Notes: The goal extended Heatley's point streak to 14 games. ... Forward Patrick Eaves (sore ankle) couldn't go for Ottawa while defenseman Lawrence Nycholat and Brian McGrattan were healthy scratches. ... Defenseman Tomas Kaberle (concussion) was out again for Toronto while defenseman Wade Belak and forwards Travis Green and Yanic Perreault also didn't play.