Giordano's OT goal lifts Maple Leafs past Senators 5-4
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Mark Giordano scored 3:26 into overtime to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Mitchell Marner scored twice in regulation for the Maple Leafs. Michael Bunting and Kyle Clifford also had goals for Toronto, which got 25 saves from Erik Kallgren.
Tim Stutzle had two goals, and Michael Del Zotto and Dylan Gambrell also scored for Ottawa. Anton Forsberg made 36 saves.
Stutzle broke a 3-3 tie at the six-minute mark of the third period, taking advantage of a giveaway by Ilya lyubushkin to score his 20th of the season and second of the game. Stutzle has six goals and seven assists in his last eight games.
But Marner tied it again, scoring his second of the game at the midway mark of the period to make it 4-4.
Ottawa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Stutzle and Del Zotto.
Toronto stormed back in the second, cutting the deficit to a goal when Clifford tipped in Justin Holl’s shot for his first of the season.
Ottawa took a 3-1 lead midway through the second as Austin Watson fired a shot through traffic and Gambrell tipped it past Kallgren. The assist gave Watson his 100th career point in his 400th NHL game.
Toronto made it a one-goal game just over a minute later when Bunting jammed in the puck from in close. Marner tied it late in the period when he one-timed T.J. Brodie’s drop pass from the top of the faceoff circle.
NOTES: Ottawa’s Colin White was placed in COVID-19 protocol before the game, forcing defenseman Victor Mete into action, but as a forward. ... Mathieu Joseph remains out of the Senators' lineup and may not be able to return before the end of the season.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Host the New York Islanders on Sunday night.
Senators: At Seattle on Monday night.
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