Senators hold off Maple Leafs, win 3rd straight

The Maple Leafs thought they’d taken a 2-0 lead at 7:59 when Max Domi tapped in a centering pass, but the Senators challenged for offside, and the call on the ice was overturned.

“We missed a ton of chances. We probably could have scored more than we did tonight,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “And we didn’t. So, we lose the game.”

Claude Giroux tied it 1-1 at 17:53. He corralled a rebound in front, waited out Jones and scored with a backhand.

“I think, obviously, we don’t get as frustrated as we used to,” Giroux said about dealing with momentum shifts. “We just know that if we play our game and if we’re consistent in what we’re doing, good things are going to happen. It’s a good team at the other side, but we were able to play a good 50 minutes.”

Vladimir Tarasenko gave Ottawa a 2-1 lead at 2:04 of the second period when he took a pass from Pinto at Toronto’s blue line and scored on a breakaway.

“We gave up too much in transition,” Keefe said. “That’s what they do very well, probably better than any team in the NHL. We fed into that.”

Knies tied it 2-2 at 9:43 by tipping in Marner’s point shot.

Pinto put the Senators back in front 3-2 at 11:13 when tipped in Parker Kelly’s point shot.

Josh Norris pushed it to 4-2 at 15:13. He knocked down a Toronto clearing attempt, carried the puck into the left face-off circle and scored with a wrist shot to the far side.

“I thought we played a good game, obviously coming off the (NHL All-Star) break,” Norris said. “It wasn’t perfect at the start, but I think it’s just the maturity that we’ve shown the last stretch of games, so it’s good to get the win tonight.”