The Toronto Maple Leafs have a 2-0 lead over the Ottawa Seantors in the Battle of Ontario after a back-and-forth 3-2 overtime victory Tuesday night.

After Toronto took an early 2-0 lead, their offence slowed down and Ottawa rallied back to force overtime. Speaking after the game Tuesday, alternate captain Mitch Marner shared the message in the locker room after the third period, as they prepared for extra time.

“To stay patient with it,” said Marner. “You know, we don’t need to win it on the first shift, just continue doing what we’re doing and just trust what we’re doing.”

Turns out they didn’t need much patience in the end, as Max Domi tucked away the game-winner just three minutes into OT. His goal came as relief for a Leafs team that began to look sluggish in the second period following a hot start to the game. Asked about their lack of offensive pressure mid-way through the game, Marner said they’ll have to take a look back to see how to improve their pace.

“It’s tough to answer that at the moment,” said Marner. “But yeah, we’ve got to do a better job of getting in the o-zone, sustaining pressure in the o-zone, making plays, working on our cycles, low to high shots. We let them control the puck a lot there in that period and that’s something that we’ve got to fix.”

While their play through the later two periods left something to be desired, there are lots of positives to pull from this game regardless. Marner now has four points through the first two games, with the Leafs power play firing on all cylinders. As they look at how they can improve their game, they’ll be smart to build off what is already working.

And now, with a commanding two-game lead in their hands, the series shifts to Ottawa. But despite the strong start, Marner said they have to be aware that the Senators aren’t going to make it easy to put this one away.

“Realize it’s gonna get even harder,” he said, of their mentality heading into their upcoming road games. “So just make sure we get our rest, focus on what we can do better, and just try to keep getting better in here and keep trusting the process.”