The Maple Leafs are one victory away from another Battle of Ontario triumph — and a trip to the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Simon Benoit scored at 1:19 of overtime as Toronto topped the Ottawa Senators 3-2 on Thursday to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the teams’ first-round series.
Benoit blasted a shot through traffic off an offensive zone draw before being mobbed by his teammates spilling off the bench.
Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies had the other goals for the Leafs. Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves.
Claude Giroux, with a goal and an assist, and Brady Tkachuk replied for the Senators. Linus Ullmark made 17 stops.
The Leafs took Game 1 by a 6-2 scoreline in Toronto before a 3-2 overtime victory two nights later after blowing an early two-goal lead.
The Senators, who played their first home playoff game since the 2017 Eastern Conference final following a glacial rebuild, host Game 4 on Saturday looking to stave off elimination.
Largely quiet through two contests and 40 minutes, Matthews buried his first goal of the series on the third period’s fresh ice off a slick, one-touch Mitch Marner feed with Ullmark looking the wrong way.
The Leafs didn’t give the Senators much room as the clock ticked down until Tkachuk took a pass from Giroux off the rush and ripped his second past Stolarz’s blocker with 8:38 left in regulation.
Giroux opened the scoring on a two-man advantage at 1:38 of the second when he fired a shot through a Tkachuk screen for the Senators’ first lead of the series inside a raucous Canadian Tire Centre.
Dylan Cozens had a chance to make it 2-0 for the home side on a breakaway later in the period before David Perron missed an open net from the slot.
Toronto went to the power play later in the period and equalized when Knies’ centring pass went off the skate of Senators forward Shane Pinto and dribbled past Ullmark.
Ottawa got another man advantage late in the period, but couldn’t get anything going before the players headed to the locker rooms for the intermission.
Stolarz held the fort early with the Senators decidedly on the front foot, including on a terrific Tim Stutzle chance from the slot before the Leafs finally started to push back. Toronto’s best chance of the first came off the stick of William Nylander, who blasted a slapshot on a breakaway that Ullmark smothered.
Leafs winger Max Pacioretty suited up for the first time in 75 days. The 36-year-old last played Feb. 8 before getting shut down with an undisclosed injury. Pacioretty took the spot of Nick Robertson.
Senators fans waited 2,891 days between home playoff games. The last post-season date in the nation’s capital came on May 23, 2017, when Ottawa beat Pittsburgh 2-1 to force Game 7 in the East final. Pittsburgh took that one in double overtime before winning its second straight Stanley Cup.
