Max Domi played the overtime hero Tuesday night, scoring at 3:09 of the extra frame to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, giving the Leafs a commanding 2-0 lead in their first-round NHL playoff series.
Domi, the son of former Leafs fan-favorite Tie Domi, surged into the offensive zone and unleashed a laser over Linus Ullmark’s shoulder for his first of the postseason, sending a raucous Scotiabank Arena crowd into a frenzy. It capped off a dramatic night in the latest chapter of the Battle of Ontario that saw the Maple Leafs survive a blown 2-0 lead.
“Just tried to get it off quick,” said Domi postgame. “Unbelievable energy in the building. That’s one we’ll remember.”
Toronto built a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from John Tavares and Morgan Rielly. Tavares opened the scoring just 18 seconds into the Leafs’ first power play, redirecting a puck that bounced off Ottawa defenseman Nick Jensen and in at 8:20 of the first. Rielly doubled the advantage midway through the second with a seeing-eye shot through traffic.
But Ottawa clawed back. Brady Tkachuk scored late in the second to cut the deficit in half, and Adam Gaudette buried the tying goal midway through the third after a sustained Senators forecheck left Toronto scrambling in its own end.
Goaltender Anthony Stolarz, making just his second career playoff start, was solid again for the Leafs, turning aside 26 shots, including a point-blank save on Tim Stützle late in regulation. The physicality also ramped up as Stolarz delivered a booming hit on Ridly Greig after the Ottawa forward barreled into the crease at the end of a second-period power play — a sequence that led to coincidental minors and heightened tensions.
Toronto now holds a 2-0 series lead for the first time since 2002 and improves to 10-0 all-time when winning the first two games at home. The best-of-seven shifts to Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre for Games 3 and 4 starting Thursday night, where the Senators, in their first playoff appearance since 2017, will try to regroup after being outscored 9-4 across the opening two contests.
“The crowd will be behind us,” said Tkachuk. “We’ve got to feed off that, clean a few things up, and get one back.”
It’s only the second time in the Auston Matthews–Mitch Marner era that the Leafs have taken a two-game series lead. The organization, now under the direction of Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube, is desperate to shake off decades of postseason heartbreak.
“It’s physical, it’s intense — it’s playoff hockey,” said Berube, coaching his first playoff series behind the Toronto bench. “But we’ve got to stay even-keeled. This series is far from over.”
In a fun twist of history, the series marks the first time two Canadian teams led by American-born captains — Tkachuk for Ottawa and Matthews for Toronto — are meeting in the playoffs.
Game 3 takes place Thursday in Ottawa, where the Senators will try to breathe life into their playoff return. For the Leafs, it’s another step in exorcising their playoff demons — and perhaps proving this year really is different.
