Ottawa Senators centre Derick Brassard (19) left wing Ryan Dzingel (18) and right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrate a goal by Chris Wideman (not shown) during third period NHL hockey action against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto on Saturday, February 18 2017.Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press
The Ottawa Senators inched closer to the Atlantic Division lead with a hearty 6-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Mark Stone had a goal and four assists in the victory, which saw the Senators give up a 2-0 lead before storming back in front on a power-play goal from Derick Brassard. Ottawa (68 points) now trails Montreal (70 points) by only two points for the division lead with three games in hand.
Chris Wideman, Ryan Dzingel and Mike Hoffman also scored for the Senators (31-19-6), who have won four of their last five games and three of four meetings with the Leafs this season.
Auston Matthews had two assists in defeat for Toronto, which has lost eight of 11 and entered the night with a tenuous grasp on the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Morgan Rielly, Nazem Kadri and William Nylander scored goals in defeat for the Leafs (26-20-11), who were playing without star 19-year-old Mitch Marner.
Frederik Andersen yielded four goals on 40 shots in defeat, Craig Anderson stopping 34-of-37 at the other end to earn the win.
The Battle of Ontario started off with predictable acrimony, Roman Polak and Mark Borowiecki trading blows and garnering two minutes each for roughing three minutes into the first.