Domi scores in OT, Maple Leafs defeat Senators in Game 2
Max Domi scored at 3:09 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.
Domi took a drop pass from Simon Benoit and cut into the slot before beating Linus Ullmark with a wrist shot over his blocker.
“It was heck of a play by Benoit, he made that whole thing happen,” Domi said. “Got a little lucky when it squeaked through. I’m not sure who it was, but you get inside the hash marks in the middle of the ice, you just have to shoot it. Ullmark is a heck of a goalie, but we will take it.”
The Maple Leafs lead the best-of-7 series 2-0. Game 3 will be in Ottawa on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP, ESPN2).
“Big win. Obviously, we needed that one,” Domi said. “Got to give Ottawa all the credit in the world, they played a heck of a hockey game. The boys stuck with it, made some plays we had to make at the right time. Big win. On to the next one now.”
John Tavares had a goal and an assist, Morgan Rielly also scored, and Anthony Stolarz made 26 saves for the Maple Leafs, who are the top seed from the Atlantic Division.
“The first period was really good, I liked our start a lot,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “We came out playing on our toes, got to our forecheck. We were aggressive, we got out to a good lead and the power play came through again. Second period, I thought they were the better team. We didn’t make plays. We looked like we were protecting the lead a little bit, didn’t make enough plays, didn’t advance it and get to the offensive zone enough. … The third period was fine, we were in good shape. The goal was the first shot we gave up in the third period.”
Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette scored, and Ullmark made 18 saves for the Senators, who are the first wild card from the East.
“There’s not one ounce of panic, doubt in this locker room,” Tkachuk said. “This just shows how much we’re going to need this city, how much we’re going to need the [Canadian Tire Centre] to be buzzing. Yeah, we’re looking forward to getting home. Honestly, there’s not one ounce of panic.”
Rielly put the Maple Leafs up 1-0 at 3:43 of the first period when he redirected a centering pass from William Nylander at the top of the goal crease after getting inside positioning on Drake Batherson.
“I think the expectation is we are all going to up our level across the board,” said Rielly, who also scored in a 6-2 win in Game 1. “I don’t think anyone is trying to reinvent the wheel, I think we are all out there just competing our hardest, trying to play a team game and get to our game as quick as we can.”
Stolarz kept it 1-0 at 4:58, lunging forward to stop Tim Stutzle alone in front of the net on the power play.
Tavares then made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 8:20. His shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle went in off Senators defenseman Nick Jensen’s skate at the top of the crease.
Tkachuk cut it to 2-1 at 15:41 of the second period on the power play. His attempted between-the-legs pass across the goal crease deflected in off Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo’s skate.
The Senators outshot the Maple Leafs 13-3 in the second period.
“That’s playoff hockey, the ebbs and flows,” Stolarz said. “You have to weather the storm and try not to give them too much, and it’s kind of on me to make a big save here or there. Second period they were kind of just throwing junk at the net and I was trying my best to control it.”
Gaudette tied it 2-2 at 14:47 of the third period when he deflected a point shot from Tyler Kleven past Stolarz. The goal came on Ottawa’s first shot of the period.
Stolarz helped get the game to overtime at 18:34 by making a glove save on Dylan Cozens, who had a clear shot from the left face-off dot.
“We didn’t give up and we played our game,” Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot said. “We didn’t give them a whole lot probably the last 40 minutes of the game, and we were in their zone on top of them, which is exactly the way we want to play. I mean, it [stinks] to lose in overtime, don’t get me wrong, but there’s still some positives to take away from it. So, just got to turn the page and get excited to go home.”
