Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Cory Cross got a sense of deja vu when Simon Benoit scored the overtime winner in Game 3 against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

The defensive defenceman was the first to the puck after captain Auston Matthews won the draw before firing a slapper that beat Linus Ullmark to give the Leafs a 3-0 lead in the series. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Cross did the same thing in 2001, though the difference was that it occurred in Toronto.

He made an appearance on Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill on Friday, where he was asked about the parallels between his and Benoit’s goal.

“I was happy that the Leafs won. I hadn’t really put two and two together until I got a couple of texts from a couple of people. And then I was like, ‘Oh yeah,'” he said. “ Then I started thinking about: Game 3, Ottawa tied it up late, a defensive defensive scores to make it 3-0.  So I was kind of giggling at it.”

The way Cross got his goal was different from how Benoit’s goal was scored. The Senators were looking to generate some offence when Sergei Berezin blocked a shot from the point and carried the puck the other way. He fed it to Nik Antropov who fired it on from the top of the right circle, which was denied by Patrick Lalime. However, he left a rebound for Cross to pounce on and score the dagger to give the Leafs a 3-0 series lead they would not relinquish.

When reminiscing about the overtime winner, Cross referred to it as one of the highlights of his career.

“We were dominating that series. They were big-time favourites. We went to Ottawa, dominated them two games. We come back to Toronto. Man, I don’t even know how many shots they had on goal that night, but it wasn’t very many,” he said about the 2001 series. “ Then they got one kind of fluky goal, another kind of fluky goal, and they tied up 2-2. And I remember sitting in the room, we’re all kind of like, ‘Uh, oh. We just woke them up, right?'”

“We went back out. There was a couple chances on both ends, and then Sergey shot it, Lalime took a terrible rebound,” he added. “It wasn’t even in a hard shot, but he just like blockered it out through the slot and popped over I think Rob Zamuner’s stick. And then I was just in the right spot at the right time.”

The Leafs have gotten themselves on the verge of their first sweep in 24 years thanks to a multitude of factors. Cross has liked the makeup of the defence and the overall toughness, while being impressed with how the stars have stepped up their game in all areas of the ice. It certainly helps that the Leafs are not getting ahead of themselves because of the business-like attitude instilled in them by head coach Craig Berube.

When asked if he saw any similarities between Berube and the legendary Pat Quinn, Cross said the way the two conduct themselves in the locker room rubs off well on the players.

“ Well, Chief and Pat,  they just bring that presence when they’re in the dressing room,” he said. “Craig just brings that ‘let’s get ‘er done and work style attitude, and Pat was the same way.  I think the players feed off that quiet energy that they bring. And I think that’s where you’re getting a little bit more from them this year.”

You can watch the full interview with Cross down below: