TORONTO -- All coach Randy Carlyle wanted his Toronto Maple Leafs to do was breathe. "Thats been our catchphrase now, because you cant do anything if you dont breathe," he said. Breathe despite seeing an eight-game losing streak all but ruin their playoff chances. Breathe despite blowing a two-goal, third-period lead to the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at Air Canada Centre. The Leafs did that, then got a chance to exhale with a 4-3 overtime victory that, if nothing else, keeps their hopes alive for another couple of days. "Were alive, but theres a lot of things that have to go our way," Carlyle said. "Make sure that we dont get too far ahead of ourselves. Weve only won two games here." Nazem Kadris goal 2:51 into overtime was just one of several pieces that must fall into place for the Leafs to rebound and make the playoffs as a wild card in the Eastern Conference. They likely need to also win all four of their remaining games, as they got no help Thursday night from the Columbus Blue Jackets, who beat the Philadelphia Flyers to remain one point ahead (85 to 84). The Blue Jackets also have two more games left to play, leaving the Leafs (38-32-8) to hope for help along the way. They could also have to lean on backup goaltender James Reimer, after starter Jonathan Bernier left Thursday nights game 7:22 into the third period with what Carlyle would only say was a lower-body injury. Bernier, who missed five games with a groin injury last month, was set for an MRI, according to Carlyle. In stopping 10 of the 11 shots he faced in relief throughout the remainder of the third and overtime, Reimer picked up his first victory since March 13. "Worried for Jonathans health, obviously. But its not worrisome with James coming in," winger Troy Bodie said. "Hes a good goalie, hes proven himself. He went in there and did a great job." Reimer had to do a great job because the Bruins (52-18-7) were pushing. They had already cut the Leafs lead -- which was built on goals by Paul Ranger, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk -- to one by the time Bernier was forced to leave. The play that led to Berniers injury even included a penalty on Ranger, who pushed Bruins centre Patrice Bergeron into the goaltender. Reimer came in and got the Leafs through the penalty kill before allowing the tying goal to Bergeron at the 12:51 mark of the third. "It showed some character to be able to come back against a desperate team like Toronto," said Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who scored Bostons second goal of the night 5:03 into the third. "These are the type of the situations you can find yourselves in in the playoffs." The Leafs can still dream and hope for the playoffs because Reimer stopped the next six shots he faced, holding on long enough to allow Kadri to eventually be the hero on the power play in overtime. "I tried to hold the boys in there and keep it close," Reimer said. "I had faith in the boys. They pulled it out, and obviously it was a good feeling." Any other feeling than the thrill of victory on Thursday night wouldve almost certainly ended the Leafs chances, especially given the Blue Jackets win in Philadelphia and their extra games left. Kadri said after the teams morning skate that he and his teammates were well aware of their spot in the standings, which is much further down than they were a few weeks ago. They also knew the Bruins were atop the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division and had all but clinched home ice throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. In losing back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 26 and March 1, Boston mightve picked up a vital lesson after a month filled with so much winning. "Its adversity that were going to face in the playoffs," Bergeron said. "Weve got to make sure that we realize that." Lessons in losing are cheap for the Leafs with time running short. They have just four games left, beginning Saturday night against the Winnipeg Jets. Thats their home finale before travelling to face the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators to close out the season. Asked if he thought his Leafs would have to run the table to make the playoffs, Carlyle responded simply: "I just worry about the next one." That has been the mantra dating to Torontos losing streak, which ended Tuesday with a victory over the Calgary Flames. Now the Leafs are on a winning streak, their first since March 8 and 10. "Weve won two in a row now, so thats a starting point," Bozak said. "We have huge games coming up here to end the season. But that was a tough test for our team tonight, and we were able to come out on top." Just being able to come out on top against one of the NHLs top teams gave the Leafs a boost of confidence. But listen to players within the locker-room and there was never any of that missing. "We always have the confidence in our group no matter what happens and I think we have a good core group of leadership in here and guys that are all pulling the rope in the same direction," said van Riemsdyk, who hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. "We stuck with it, even though things were tough, were going to have to continue to take it one game at a time, one shift at a time and go from there." NOTES -- Winger Joffrey Lupul was scratched with a lower-body injury and replaced in the lineup by Jerry DAmigo. Carlyle did not know for sure but called Lupul "doubtful" for Saturdays game against Winnipeg. ... First-liner Phil Kessel, who has been playing with a bruised right foot, had two assists for his first multi-point game since March 10. ... Bodie played 20:29, by far a career-high. Carlyle explained that was a product of wanting to create a checking line to open up van Riemsdyk, Bozak and Kessel for more favourable ice time. ... Former Flames captain Jarome Iginla returned to the Bruins lineup after missing the Bruins 3-2 loss to the Red Wings with what the team called a lower-body injury. ... Bruins forward Carl Soderberg returned to Boston for the birth of his child, which meant Jordan Caron played his second straight game. Clearance NBA Jerseys . The biggest collapse in franchise history was a long time ago, and he was too busy trying to make sure it didnt happen again. Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic . - Free agent defensive end Will Smith has signed with the New England Patriots. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/. The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Discount NBA Jerseys . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). Stitched NBA Jerseys . Thats the feeling that eight Canadian Football League teams are experiencing right now in advance of the expansion draft to stock the Ottawa Redblacks.DENVER -- Al Jefferson is pulling away in a big way from a slow, painful start to his season. Jefferson matched a season high with 35 points, including a key basket in the final seconds, and the Charlotte Bobcats hung on to beat the Denver Nuggets 101-98 on Wednesday night. It was the 10th consecutive game in which Jefferson has scored at least 20 points, an offensive flurry reflecting his improved health since missing nine of the Bobcats first 12 games this season because of a sprained right ankle. "It is all about staying healthy," Jefferson said. "I am 85 or 90 per cent right now. If I were 100 per cent, I could be very effective. I am working hard to get to 100 per cent." Jefferson looked awfully close to that in a game in which he also had 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double in his last 22 games. "He is scoring and then we are also scoring off him. His effect on his teammates is good," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. Gerald Henderson and Ramon Sessions each added 16 points for the Bobcats who beat the Nuggets in Denver for only the second time in eight games here. Randy Foye scored a season-high 33 points to lead Denver, which was without leading scorer Ty Lawson (left shoulder). His replacement, Nate Robinson, was knocked out of the game in the first quarter with a left knee sprain, forcing Foye into the unfamiliar role of running the point. "Nate and Ty, they push the ball and do so many different things," Foye said. "I just tried to mimic some of the things that Ty does, just being aggressive, taking it to the basket and trying to make plays for everybody, picking my spots where I needed to score. "But we fouled a lot. We gave them the game. We got stops. They got offensive rebounds and we fouled them. We made some bonehead plays fouling them and just putting them on the free throw line. But well figure this out. Theres no quit in this team." Robinson was hurt in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket. He got up gingerly and continued playing but was forced to leave the game a short time later. He did not return and the Nuggets said Robinson was scheduled to undergo an MRI scan on Thursday to further evaluate the injuryy, which the team initially described as a sprain.dddddddddddd Evan Fournier added 19 points for the Nuggets and Timofey Mozgov had 15. Up by one at the break, the Bobcats pulled into a 75-all tie heading into the fourth period on a pair of free throws by Sessions, helping to offset a 3-pointer by Fournier moments earlier. Jeffersons 6-foot jumper evened the score again, at 82-all, but Fournier connected on a jumper and, after a turnover by the Bobcats, Foye drained a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a five-point edge with 6:38 remaining. Foyes long jumper produced a final tie at 95-95 with 1:08 left. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist made one of two free throws and, after Wilson Chandler missed a contested reverse layup, Jefferson sank a jumper for a 98-95 lead with 23.1 seconds remaining. Darrell Arthur made a 3-pointer with 10.7 seconds left to pull the Nuggets within 99-98, but after Henderson was fouled and made one of two free throws with 9 seconds remaining, the Bobcats defence turned away shots from up close by Fournier and Mozgov to help the Bobcats hang on. "It was a weird play at the end," Jefferson said. "The rebound (off Fourniers miss) got deflected in some kind of way. Mozgov got the ball and had a clean shot at a layup, but MKG (Kidd-Gilchrist) made a heck of a job to block it." Added Henderson: "Those are plays that win games." Leading by as many as 14 points early on, the Bobcats settled for a 53-52 halftime lead as the Nuggets outscored Charlotte 31-21 in the second quarter. Jefferson converted a three-point play to give Charlotte a 43-31 advantage with 5:47 remaining in the second, but Denver closed the period on a 21-10 run capped by Arthurs 20-jumper an instant before the first-half buzzer. NOTES: The Bobcats Ben Gordon missed the game because of illness. ... The Nuggets and Bobcats meet one more time this season on March 10 in Charlotte. ... Kemba Walker missed his fifth game for the Bobcats since spraining his left ankle Jan. 18 against Miami. The Bobcats are 3-2 in that span. ... Jefferson also scored 35 points against the New York Knicks on Jan. 14. ... Foyes previous high this season was 24 points on Jan. 9 against Oklahoma City. ' ' '