Instead, it was a 26-year-old, third-pair defenseman from Laval, Quebec, who proved to be the difference-maker by beating goalie Linus Ullmark at 1:19 of overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 3-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at a raucous Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.

Simon Benoit scored on a slap shot from the point at 1:19 of overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 3-2 victory over the Senators and a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

Auston Matthews won a faceoff back to Benoit at the left point, and the defenseman fired a low shot through traffic that beat goalie Linus Ullmark to the far post