The Ottawa Senators are officially on the ropes, having lost the first three games in their opening-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against their provincial rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Simon Benoit’s goal shortly into overtime secured the victory for the Maple Leafs, who now lead the series 3-0 and need only one more win to punch their ticket to the second round of the playoffs for just the third time since 2004. When they made the second round that year, it also came on the back of a series win against the Senators.
Maple Leafs Beat Senators in Overtime To Take a 3-0 Series Stranglehold
Neither team found the back of the net in the opening 20 minutes of play in front of a sold-out crowd at Canadian Tire Centre, many of whom were decked out in the blue and white of the Maple Leafs.
Senators forward Claude Giroux managed to break the ice early in the second period with his first goal of the playoffs, giving Ottawa the 1-0 lead. But just past the midway point of the period, Matthew Knies restored parity at 1-1 with a power-play goal, which was his second goal of the series.
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews only needed 32 seconds in the third period to score his first of the series, giving Toronto the lead. However, Senators captain (and Matthews’ Team USA teammate) Brady Tkachuk soon scored his second goal, once again knotting the score.
But just 1:19 into overtime, Benoit fired a shot from the point after a clean face-off win in the Ottawa zone past Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark for the winner.
SIMON BENOIT!!! LEAFS ARE ONE GAME AWAY FROM A FIRST ROUND SWEEP 🧹pic.twitter.com/9A9o7wJJRw
— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 25, 2025
3 Senators Who Didn’t Come Through in Game 3 Overtime Loss to Maple Leafs
1] Artem Zub
The Senators’ defenseman picked an inopportune time to have a bad night at the office.
Despite finishing with the third-most ice time among all Senators defensemen, he finished the game tied for a team-worst -2 rating. He also missed his assignment on Matthews’s go-ahead goal early in the third period.
It also didn’t help the defenseman’s case that he committed a pair of giveaways during the game.
2] Linus Ullmark
Ottawa’s big-money goaltender, whom they acquired via trade with the Boston Bruins during the offseason and signed to a multi-year contract extension, hasn’t been getting the job done for the Senators.
He was conceded three times on just 20 shots, making 17 saves for a subpar .850 save percentage. Through the first three games of the playoffs, Ullmark has now surrendered 12 total goals for a 3.91 goals-against average.
That will not cut it in the high-stakes playoff environment.
3] Shane Pinto
Speaking of not cutting it, the performance from Pinto, who scored 21 goals during the regular season, has been lacking.
He has just a single assist in the first three games of the series and went pointless in Game 3. He was tied for a team-worst -2 rating, and had a giveaway against his name.
Pinto is one player the Senators need to come through with the performance of his life in Game 4 to avoid elimination.