Leafs lead Senators after second period in Game 1
Published
The Toronto Maple Leafs hold a three-goal advantage over the Ottawa Senators after 40 minutes of play in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
A power-play goal by William Nylander pushed the Leafs’ lead to 4-1 at the 7:19 mark of the middle frame.
John Tavares scored four minutes into the second period to restore a two-goal lead at 3-1 for Toronto.
The Senators got on the board for the first time in the series when Drake Batherson scored his first playoff goal to cut the lead to 2-1 with less than four minutes remaining in the first period.
Leafs forward Mitch Marner accepted a break-away pass from Auston Matthews and fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Linus Ullmark to extend the lead to 2-0 just passed the halfway mark of the opening frame.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring in the series at the 7:08 mark of the first period to give the Leafs an early 1-0 lead.
The Leafs went 52-26-4 and finished atop the Atlantic Division this season.
Ottawa clinched the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 45-30-7 and return to the postseason for the first time since 2017.
The Senators and Leafs last clashed in the Battle of Ontario in 2004.
Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday.