National Hockey League
Toronto 3, Ottawa 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 25, 2021
Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Brad Meier
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Michel Cormier
Attendance: N/A

Justin Holl scored with 18 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a dramatic 3-2 road victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

Auston Matthews made a strong defensive play to prevent a Senators odd-man rush in overtime, then sent the puck back the other way to create a Toronto scoring chance. The result was Holl's second goal of the season.

The Maple Leafs have now won consecutive games following a 1-6-0 stretch.

Ilya Mikheyev and Jason Spezza scored Toronto's other goals.

Connor Brown and Alex Formenton scored for the Senators, who have recorded points in each of their last six games (3-0-3).

Brown's goal was a short-handed marker that gave Ottawa the lead 18:53 into the first period. Leafs goalie Jack Campbell was trying to clear the puck behind his net when Chris Tierney rushed in on the forecheck. Campbell sent a partially deflected pass in front of the net, and Brown easily converted for his seventh goal of the season.

After that tough opening concession, the Maple Leafs had better fortune in finding the equalizer. T.J. Brodie's shot off the crossbar at 14:40 of the second period deflected off Mikheyev's body and into the Ottawa net. The referee initially waved off the score, but video review confirmed Mikheyev's fifth goal of the season.

Spezza scored for the third consecutive game after blasting home a wrist shot from the slot midway through the third period.

Formenton brought the Senators level at 13:14 of the third period. Campbell had to handle the puck after a deflection off the boards, and another aggressive Ottawa forecheck resulted in Formenton converting his second career NHL goal.

Playing in just his second game of the season and the 12th game of his NHL career, Formenton scored for the first time since Oct. 30, 2018.

Campbell stopped 29 of 31 shots, and is 5-0-0 in five starts this season.

Anton Forsberg stopped 38 of 41 shots in his first NHL game since March 7, 2020. Ottawa claimed Forsberg off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets last week to add depth after the Senators' top three goalies were all sidelined by injury.

The Maple Leafs are 4-2-1 in seven games against the Senators this season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Ottawa
Justin Holl 1 Points Connor Brown 1
Justin Holl 1 Goals Connor Brown 1
TJ Brodie 1 Assists Clark Bishop 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals Connor Brown 1
Jack Campbell .935 Save Percentage Anton Forsberg .927
Jack Campbell 29 Saves Anton Forsberg 38
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Toronto 41 3 0-3 3-3 6 25
Ottawa 31 2 0-3 3-3 6 43
Upcoming Games
  • Ottawa will play their next game on the road against Montreal. The Senators have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .304 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game at home against Edmonton. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .650 after a win and .583 after a loss.