Senators 5, Maple Leafs 3
Kyle Turris snapped a tie with 52 seconds left in the second period and completed his second straight two-goal performance with an empty-netter in the final minute of the third as host Ottawa extended its winning streak to six games.
Captain Erik Karlsson recorded a goal and an assist while rookies Mike Hoffman and Curtis Lazar also tallied for the Senators, who have earned at least one point in 15 of their last 16 contests (14-1-1). Defenseman Marc Methot notched two assists and Andrew Hammond made 22 saves in improving to 13-0-1 in the NHL as Ottawa climbed within one point of Boston for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Joakim Lindstrom, Leo Komarov and blue-liner Tim Erixon tallied for the Maple Leafs, whose losing streak reached five games. Jonathan Bernier suffered the hard-luck loss despite allowing just one goal on 22 shots in relief of James Reimer, who was beaten three times on 18 shots.
Ottawa opened the scoring with 6:40 remaining in the first period as Alex Chiasson made a nifty pass from the right corner to Hoffman, who beat Reimer from the left faceoff circle. Karlsson doubled the lead less than three minutes later with a shot from the left circle before Lindstrom deflected captain Dion Phaneuf's wrister from the right point past Hammond at 2:42 of the second to halve Toronto's deficit.
Lazar restored the Senators' two-goal advantage 27 seconds later, but Komarov fired the puck inside the left post from the right circle 4 1/2 minutes into the session to get the Maple Leafs back within one. Erixon forged a tie with 4:28 left, beating Hammond with a blast from the right point, before Turris ripped a shot past Bernier from the top of the right circle to put Ottawa back in front.
GAME NOTEBOOK: It was the third two-goal effort of the season for Turris, who also tallied twice against Boston on Thursday. ... Senators LW Milan Michalek suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. ... Hammond is the first goaltender to earn at least one point in each of his first 14 NHL starts since Pittsburgh's Patrick Lalime began his career with a 14-0-2 record in 1996-97.