Game 3 of the new era Battle of Ontario went to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and just like in Game 2, it ended in dramatic fashion.
After Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the series to give the Leafs the 2-1 lead 32 seconds into the third period, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk responded with the tying goal in the second half of the frame to send the game to overtime. And, just like on Tuesday night , it took the Leafs no time to score the winner. This time, the hero was one of the unlikeliest; stay-at-home no. 6 defenceman Simon Benoit.
Matthews won the faceoff in the offensive zone a little over a minute into overtime, and Benoit one-timed the puck past Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark to secure the victory and a 3-0 series lead for his team. Matthew Knies, who scored the Leafs’ first goal of the game after the Senators opened the scoring, said that the goal began with a set play.
“Tone [Matthews] had a good draw win,” Knies said. “I think that’s a play we drew up there…Benny got a good shot off.”
The shot navigated through a ton of traffic, leading to questions about whether Knies got a stick on the puck, but he brushed it off and let his teammate have his moment.
“I’m just gonna say it’s Benny’s.” Knies said with a laugh.
It wasn’t the only quote of Knies’ to get a laugh from the scrum. He used some rather blunt phrasing when discussing his role on the team’s surging power play right now.
“I think you have a lot of star talent with those four guys there, I just gotta park my big ass in front, and you know, create havoc,” Knies said. “Take that D away, take the eyes away, and those guys make plays, and luckily we found a bounce tonight to get us going.”
The Leafs will now enter Game 4 with a chance to sweep the Senators in the first round, but Knies is all too aware that the fourth win will more than likely be the hardest.
“Yeah I mean, it’s the hardest thing in the NHL, it’s your team’s season,” Knies said. “When it comes to overtime like that, critical moments, it just takes a bounce. We knew it was going to be a rebound, or just chaos in front of the net, and I think that’s what we got. We played simple, we played hard, and came out with a win.”
