Sens rally from 4 down to win for 1st time, beat Leafs in OT

Posted February 16, 2021 6:00 am

The Associated Press

Ottawa Senators right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) scores the game tying goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) - Evgenii Dadonov scored his second goal of the game in overtime and the Ottawa Senators overcame a four-goal deficit to win for the first time in franchise history, stunning the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 on Monday night.

Ottawa trailed 5-1 late in the second period before charging back, improving to 1-237-3 when trailing by at least four goals.

'œIt's hockey ... anything can happen,'ť Dadonov said. 'œWe didn't stop playing.'ť

Conor Brown and Nick Paul each had a goal and an assist for the Senators. Drake Batherson and Artem Zub also scored, and Marcus Hogberg stopped 33 shots.

'œGive the guys credit for staying in the fight,'ť coach D.J. Smith said. 'ť(Hogberg) gave us every chance. I thought we hung him out for a couple periods. We just didn't have our legs.

'œWe were flat, we didn't make many plays, but we found a way.'ť

Auston Matthews had two goals - giving him an NHL-leading 12 - and an assist for Toronto, and Joe Thornton had a goal and an assist in his return from injury. Travis Boyd and Pierre Engvall provided the rest of the offense for Toronto, and Frederik Andersen made 25 saves.

'œSloppiness is creeping into our game,'ť Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. 'œIt wasn't everybody, but enough guys gave the game to them.

'œWhat we had against us is sloppy play ... that led to us playing more in our end than we had to.'ť

Dadanov batted a puck out of mid-air for his fifth goal with 2:01 left and Hogbeg on the bench for an extra attacker. He then buried his second on a breakaway in the extra period after blocking Morgan Rielly's shot in the crease with Hogberg completely out of position.

Thornton was back on Toronto's top line with Matthews and Mitch Marner after the 41-year-old missed 10 games with a fractured rib suffered Jan. 20.

'œA couple of careless plays,'ť Matthews said. 'œThey challenged us and we didn't really respond. We definitely blew this one.'ť

MAKING MOVES

The Leafs announced before the game they had acquired forward Alex Galchenyuk from the Carolina Hurricanes for forward Egor Korshkov and defenseman David Warsofsky.

UP NEXT

The teams play against Wednesday and Thursday in Ottawa.

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More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Ottawa Senators defeneman Artem Zub (2) scores past Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) as Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) looks on during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Ottawa Senators goaltender Marcus Hogberg (1) makes a save against Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Ilya Mikheyev (65) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

Ottawa Senators right wing Evgenii Dadonov (63) celebrates after he scored the winning goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs as Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) reacts during overtime of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press

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