Simon Benoit found himself at the centre of an unlikely celebration Thursday night after his overtime point shot through traffic sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Ottawa Senators. The win gives Toronto a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round playoff series and puts them within one game of advancing in the latest chapter of the Battle of Ontario.
“I just lifted both of my arms and didn’t move,” Benoit said of the goal. “I saw all those guys coming towards me. Good feeling.”
The goal came at 1:19 of the extra period after Leafs captain Auston Matthews won a critical offensive zone faceoff—part of Toronto’s dominance in the circle throughout the game. The puck found its way to Benoit, who wasted no time firing it through a crowd and past Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark.
Leafs head coach Craig Berube praised the 27-year-old defenceman, saying, “It’s always great when a guy like that scores a big goal. Benny’s played extremely well for us defensively … very happy for him.”
Matthews added a goal and an assist, while Matthew Knies also scored for the Leafs. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz made 18 saves to extend his personal win streak to 11 games dating back to March 20.
Ottawa responded with goals from Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk, and Ullmark stopped 17 shots in the loss. Game 4 will be played in Ottawa on Saturday as the Senators try to avoid elimination in front of their home crowd.
Toronto’s Game 1 win came with a convincing 6-2 scoreline, while Game 2 saw the Leafs recover from an early slip to win 3-2 in overtime. Thursday’s tilt was tighter from the start, with Ottawa drawing first blood on a two-man advantage. Giroux’s wrist shot through a Tkachuk screen at 1:38 of the second period gave the Senators their first lead of the series.
Knies evened the score later in the period when his centring attempt deflected off Shane Pinto’s skate and trickled in. Matthews gave the Leafs a brief lead early in the third, finishing a sharp pass from Mitch Marner while Ullmark looked the wrong way.
Tkachuk tied the game again late in regulation with a blistering shot off a Giroux feed, sending the Canadian Tire Centre into a frenzy. “I really believed at that point we were gonna win the game,” said Tkachuk. “It just felt like it was meant to happen.”
But the night ended with Benoit’s moment—a blue-collar defenceman turned unexpected hero. It marked his first career playoff goal and the second-most important of his life, he joked, behind one in minor hockey.
Benoit joined Toronto last season and has stepped up in the playoffs after a rocky start to the year that included the birth of his first child in September. He credited team management for supporting him through early struggles. “After Christmas, I think I managed to manage all the things that were happening at home,” he said. “My baby’s just fantastic and I have a wonderful girlfriend.”
Despite the back-to-back overtime losses, Senators coach Travis Green said his team won’t back down. “We’re not gonna go away. We’re gonna be ready to play.”
Toronto’s depth showed again Thursday. Max Pacioretty returned after missing 75 days due to injury, replacing Nick Robertson in the lineup. The 36-year-old’s last appearance came on February 8.
The playoff return to Ottawa was long-awaited—2,891 days, in fact—since their last home postseason game in May 2017, when the Senators pushed Pittsburgh to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Final. Now, they’ll need to channel some of that same energy to keep their season alive.