Rielly, Tavares give Maple Leafs 2-0 lead over Senators after first period of Game 2
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Morgan Rielly and John Tavares both found the net for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they lead the Ottawa Senators 2-0 after the first period of Game 2 of their first-round series.
The Maple Leafs lead the best-of-seven series 1-0.
After a frenetic start to the game that saw the Leafs create early chances, Rielly opened the scoring at the 3:44 mark of the period.
The 31-year-old pinched down to the goal line and redirected a William Nylander pass into the net past Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark.
The defenceman has scored in both games of the series.
Nylander and Tavares both collected their second assists of the playoffs on the opening marker.
A minute after taking the lead, the Maple Leafs were assessed the first penalty of the game, a high-sticking call against defenceman Chris Tanev.
The Senators had four shots with the man advantage, but were not able to get one past Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
Tavares doubled the Leafs lead at the 8:20 mark of the frame when his centering pass deflected past Ullmark on the power play.
Senators defenceman Artem Zub was in the box for tripping, he served :18 seconds of the infraction before the Leafs converted on the man advantage.
Stolarz turned away all 10 shots he faced in the frame.
Ullmark made five of seven saves in the first period.
Nick Cousins drew into the lineup for the Senators in Game 2, he replaced Matthew Highmore, who played 9:10 and didn’t record a point in the series opener.
The Leafs captured Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario 6-2 on Sunday.
The Senators are in the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 Stanley Cup tournament.
That season they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games in the Eastern Conference Final.
The Maple Leafs are playing in their ninth-consecutive postseason.