<p>Simon Benoit emerged as the overtime hero for the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/">Toronto Maple Leafs</a>, steering his team to a<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-simon-benoit-winner-toronto-maple-leafs"> 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 3</a>. Toronto could sweep Ottawa on Saturday night, and Benoit has emerged as a postseason marvel, following his primary assist on Max Domi&#8217;s winner in Game 2.</p>
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<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s amazing. That&#8217;s what the playoffs are all about, an unsung hero. It&#8217;s a hell of a shot, all the guys got to the net there, and we&#8217;re ready for a second opportunity, and lucky that we didn&#8217;t need it,&#8221; Mitch Marner said of Benoit&#8217;s goal, post-game.</p>
<p>It was a cagey affair for most of the game, but the Maple Leafs withstood the Senators&#8217; punch through the opening period and fought back valiantly. Claude Giroux opened the scoring for the Senators in the second period, but Matthew Knies tied the game on the power play, then Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the series, giving the Leafs a 2-1 lead. Brady Tkachuk beat Anthony Stolarz cleanly, which sent the game into overtime, and Benoit helped the Leafs preserve the tie with a pair of clutch shot blocks in the final minute.</p>
<p>Benoit entered the series as the Maple Leafs&#8217; sixth defencemen, known for his physicality and ability to clear the net-front. He&#8217;s turned into an unlikely source of secondary offence, and while it may be unsustainable, that&#8217;s tomorrow&#8217;s problem. The Battle of Ontario is being won handily by the Leafs, in no small part due to Benoit.</p>
<h3>Here are six takeaways from the Maple Leafs&#8217; victory over the Senators</h3>
<ul>
<li>Simon Benoit&#8217;s overtime goal will be played across Southern Ontario, and perhaps the larger hockey world on a loop until the puck drops Saturday, but he did more than score the goal of his career. Benoit made two key shot blocks in the dying minutes of the third period, and played with his trademark physicality throughout the game. The 26-year-old was active on the rush, particularly in the third period, where he entered the zone with fluency and was hunting for offence without surrendering position. Benoit&#8217;s game <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/simon-benoit-game-inflection-point-toronto-maple-leafs-timely-hero-battle-of-ontario">reached an inflection point in March</a> during the California road trip and he hasn&#8217;t looked back since. If the Leafs sweep the Senators, Benoit&#8217;s emergence from depth player to series hero will be in the lede.</li>
<li>Mitch Marner was terrific in all situations, highlighted by a quick flick over to Auston Matthews to give the Leafs a 2-1 lead early in the third period. Marner was excellent on the penalty kill, he threw his body into puck battles, he broke up passes in high-danger areas, and he was outstanding defensively. He&#8217;s been operating with precision as the power play quarterback, and he&#8217;s having the type of series that many factions of the fan base demanded. &#8220;The next one is going to be hardest, we know that,&#8221; Marner said post-game.</li>
<li>Auston Matthews outplayed Brady Tkachuk in Game 3, and he&#8217;s been better than his Senators counterpart throughout the series. Matthews scored his first goal of the series, but like Marner, he was hounding down pucks, breaking up opposing chances, winning battles, winning 65 percent of his faceoffs and doing all the small things well. Matthews was deemed enemy No. 1 by the Canadian Tire Centre crowd and didn&#8217;t seem remotely phased by the hostile environment. He registered his fifth point of the series when Benoit beat Linus Ullmark from the blue line. Tkachuk also scored off the rush, on a goal that almost brought the house down, and he&#8217;s played well, but ultimately, Matthews and his linemates are running over the Shane Pinto line, and Tkachuk hasn&#8217;t had the same effect against the John Tavares line.</li>
<li><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/replacing-robertson-with-pacioretty-in-the-leafs-lineup-was-a-no-brainer-decision-leafs-morning-take">Max Pacioretty entered the lineup in place of Nick Robertson</a> and was active, throwing a team-best seven hits. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube explained that he wanted a heavier, physical presence in the lineup for Game 3, and Pacioretty lived up to his assignment there. Beyond the physicality, Pacioretty worked his way back into the contest, and may be better suited for a third line role than Robertson, although I don&#8217;t he played well enough to permanently keep Robertson out of the lineup. Positional flexibility is a major key during the playoffs, and it&#8217;ll be interesting to see whether Berube elects to run Pacioretty back for Game 4, or go back to Robertson, who is quicker and a better offensive threat.</li>
<li>Anthony Stolarz was great once again for the Maple Leafs. Tkachuk&#8217;s game-tying goal was one that Stolarz perhaps should&#8217;ve tracked better, but it was his first &#8216;bad&#8217; goal allowed during the series, which he&#8217;s more than earned. For the third consecutive game, Stolarz was superior to Senators goalie Linus Ullmark, and the Maple Leafs have never exuded this much confidence in their goaltender during this era. Stolarz has now won 11 consecutive games, but he warned <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/anthony-stolarz-credits-blue-line-win-toronto-maple-leafs">against complacency post-game</a>. In every aspect of the game, Stolarz is completely locked in.</li>
<li>Credit to the Canadian Tire Centre crowd: it was an electric environment and while some chants gained more traction than others, the Senators&#8217; fan base gave their side all the energy it demanded in their first home game in eight years. The arena was shaking during Tkachuk&#8217;s game-tying goal and consequently, you could feel the energy puncture like a balloon when Benoit notched the overtime winner. As one of the travelling reporters, it made for one hell of a game, everything you could ask for in the Battle of Ontario.</li>
</ul>
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Simon Benoit emerged as the overtime hero for the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/">Toronto Maple Leafs</a>, steering his team to a<a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/knee-jerk-reaction-simon-benoit-winner-toronto-maple-leafs"> 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Game 3</a>. Toronto could sweep Ottawa on Saturday night, and Benoit has emerged as a postseason marvel, following his primary assist on Max Domi's winner in Game 2.
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"It's amazing. That's what the playoffs are all about, an unsung hero. It's a hell of a shot, all the guys got to the net there, and we're ready for a second opportunity, and lucky that we didn't need it," Mitch Marner said of Benoit's goal, post-game.

It was a cagey affair for most of the game, but the Maple Leafs withstood the Senators' punch through the opening period and fought back valiantly. Claude Giroux opened the scoring for the Senators in the second period, but Matthew Knies tied the game on the power play, then Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the series, giving the Leafs a 2-1 lead. Brady Tkachuk beat Anthony Stolarz cleanly, which sent the game into overtime, and Benoit helped the Leafs preserve the tie with a pair of clutch shot blocks in the final minute.

Benoit entered the series as the Maple Leafs' sixth defencemen, known for his physicality and ability to clear the net-front. He's turned into an unlikely source of secondary offence, and while it may be unsustainable, that's tomorrow's problem. The Battle of Ontario is being won handily by the Leafs, in no small part due to Benoit.
<h3>Here are six takeaways from the Maple Leafs' victory over the Senators</h3>
<ul>
 	<li>Simon Benoit's overtime goal will be played across Southern Ontario, and perhaps the larger hockey world on a loop until the puck drops Saturday, but he did more than score the goal of his career. Benoit made two key shot blocks in the dying minutes of the third period, and played with his trademark physicality throughout the game. The 26-year-old was active on the rush, particularly in the third period, where he entered the zone with fluency and was hunting for offence without surrendering position. Benoit's game <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/simon-benoit-game-inflection-point-toronto-maple-leafs-timely-hero-battle-of-ontario">reached an inflection point in March</a> during the California road trip and he hasn't looked back since. If the Leafs sweep the Senators, Benoit's emergence from depth player to series hero will be in the lede.</li>
 	<li>Mitch Marner was terrific in all situations, highlighted by a quick flick over to Auston Matthews to give the Leafs a 2-1 lead early in the third period. Marner was excellent on the penalty kill, he threw his body into puck battles, he broke up passes in high-danger areas, and he was outstanding defensively. He's been operating with precision as the power play quarterback, and he's having the type of series that many factions of the fan base demanded. "The next one is going to be hardest, we know that," Marner said post-game.</li>
 	<li>Auston Matthews outplayed Brady Tkachuk in Game 3, and he's been better than his Senators counterpart throughout the series. Matthews scored his first goal of the series, but like Marner, he was hounding down pucks, breaking up opposing chances, winning battles, winning 65 percent of his faceoffs and doing all the small things well. Matthews was deemed enemy No. 1 by the Canadian Tire Centre crowd and didn't seem remotely phased by the hostile environment. He registered his fifth point of the series when Benoit beat Linus Ullmark from the blue line. Tkachuk also scored off the rush, on a goal that almost brought the house down, and he's played well, but ultimately, Matthews and his linemates are running over the Shane Pinto line, and Tkachuk hasn't had the same effect against the John Tavares line.</li>
 	<li><a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/replacing-robertson-with-pacioretty-in-the-leafs-lineup-was-a-no-brainer-decision-leafs-morning-take">Max Pacioretty entered the lineup in place of Nick Robertson</a> and was active, throwing a team-best seven hits. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube explained that he wanted a heavier, physical presence in the lineup for Game 3, and Pacioretty lived up to his assignment there. Beyond the physicality, Pacioretty worked his way back into the contest, and may be better suited for a third line role than Robertson, although I don't he played well enough to permanently keep Robertson out of the lineup. Positional flexibility is a major key during the playoffs, and it'll be interesting to see whether Berube elects to run Pacioretty back for Game 4, or go back to Robertson, who is quicker and a better offensive threat.</li>
 	<li>Anthony Stolarz was great once again for the Maple Leafs. Tkachuk's game-tying goal was one that Stolarz perhaps should've tracked better, but it was his first 'bad' goal allowed during the series, which he's more than earned. For the third consecutive game, Stolarz was superior to Senators goalie Linus Ullmark, and the Maple Leafs have never exuded this much confidence in their goaltender during this era. Stolarz has now won 11 consecutive games, but he warned <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/anthony-stolarz-credits-blue-line-win-toronto-maple-leafs">against complacency post-game</a>. In every aspect of the game, Stolarz is completely locked in.</li>
 	<li>Credit to the Canadian Tire Centre crowd: it was an electric environment and while some chants gained more traction than others, the Senators' fan base gave their side all the energy it demanded in their first home game in eight years. The arena was shaking during Tkachuk's game-tying goal and consequently, you could feel the energy puncture like a balloon when Benoit notched the overtime winner. As one of the travelling reporters, it made for one hell of a game, everything you could ask for in the Battle of Ontario.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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