Sanderson scores in OT as Senators beat Maple Leafs 4-3 to avoid sweep

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Defenseman Jake Sanderson scored on a long wrist shot from the left boards at 17:42 of overtime and the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday night to force a fifth game in the first-round series.

Sanderson kept the puck in at the blue line and fired the wrist shot that sailed through traffic and past goalie Anthony Stolarz into the top, right corner.

“Crazy atmosphere,” Sanderson said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Toronto.

The teams needed extra time for the third straight game, with Ottawa finally breaking though after 3-2 overtime losses in Games 2 and 3. Toronto missed a chance for its first sweep since beating Ottawa in the 2001 first round.

“Our special teams could have been a little bit better,” Knies said. “In overtime, it’s going to be a bounce or a dirty goal. It went their way.”

Ottawa killed a four-minute power play in overtime after Drake Batherson was given a double minor for high-sticking Toronto defenseman Chris Tanev.

“Any time a team like Toronto gets a four-minute power play, you know you’re in one,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “A lot of credit to our penalty kill. They really got the job done. Gutsy effort.”

Toronto defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson tied it with 5:29 left in regulation. He beat Linus Ullmark from the right side off William Nylander's cross pass.

“I think, obviously, we had a lot of chances,” Ekman-Larsson said. “We had a power play that we could have done some damage but they killed it off.”

David Perron gave Ottawa 3-2 lead at 7:32 of the third period. After Brady Tkachuk bowled over Maple Leafs forward Pontus Holmberg near the Ottawa net, the Senators rushed the other way, with Artem Zub slipping the puck down low for Perron to tap it past Stolarz.

Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto added goals for Ottawa. Ullmark made 31 saves.

John Tavares and Matthew Knies also scored for Toronto. Stolarz stopped 17 shots.

Ottawa took a 2-0 lead in the first period, with Stutzle scoring on a power play at 9:03 and Pinto following with 5:49 left.

Tavares pulled Toronto within one with 55 seconds left in the first with his third of the series. Knies tied it with 9:48 left in the second, also scoring his third goal of the series.

Ottawa won a playoff game for the first time since the 2017 Eastern Conference final. Only four NHL teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series — the 1942 Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders, the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers and the 2014 Los Angeles Kings.

___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl