It was a tense affair Tuesday night as the Ottawa Senators rallied back from an early two-goal deficit to force overtime. In the end, it was Max Domi who played OT hero for the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving them a commanding 2-0 series lead as they head to Ottawa.

In a game where Toronto started strong but lost some momentum throughout, Domi’s effort was crucial in keeping the power in Toronto’s hands, so as not to waste their home ice advantage. And after the game, his teammates were quick to sing his praises.

Having played alongside Domi a few years his junior with the OHL’s London Knights back in the early 2010s, and following a similar path through the GTHL’s Don Mills, Mitch Marner has long admired Domi in his climb to the NHL. Speaking after the game, he had big compliments for his fellow Ontarian.

“He works on his craft so much on ice, off ice, how he takes care of his body, just how he is such a pro,” said Marner. “I was lucky enough to get to see that in London as well when I was really young, to learn off of him was amazing, to see nothing has changed and he’s even more of a pro now, it’s pretty special. Yeah, that was really cool for him to get that, I was really happy for him.”

Domi has long earned respect from teammates for his hard work ethic, but has struggled to see consistent results in his game for a few years now. Speaking on the OT winner, goaltender Anthony Stolarz shared how good it is to see that hard work pay off.

“You couldn’t be happier for him,” said Stolarz. “He’s worked his ass off all year for us. He’s a great two-way player. He’s a hell of a teammate in the room.  To see someone like that get rewarded, hopefully it’s the start of something big for him this playoffs.”

“I think we were all thrilled,” added John Tavares. “Not just his skillset, but the edge that he plays with, the passion he has for the game, and his determination to get better and make an impact … obviously Max has got a great history here with his dad, so a great moment for him.”

Formerly a Maple Leaf in the 2000s alongside Tie Domi, even Ottawa head coach Travis Green had to give his kudos to Max Domi after the game, though he wasn’t too thrilled with the circumstances of the goal.

“I could tell he was gonna be a good hockey player from a young age,” said Green. “I always liked seeing him have success, but obviously not tonight.”

The Maple Leafs will head to the nation’s capital for Game 3, with the full awareness that the series is only going to get harder regardless of the fact that they’re leading the series.