Senators keep Battle of Ontario alive with shutout win over Leafs

TORONTO (AP) — Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for the first playoff shutout of his career as the Ottawa Senators edged the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 on Tuesday night to cut the deficit in the teams’ first-round series to 3-2.

Thomas Chabot and Dylan Cozens gave the Senators a 2-0 lead before Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk added empty-net goals for Ottawa, which once again staved off elimination after picking up a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 at home Saturday. Tkachuk and Stutzle added two assists each for three-point performances.

Anthony Stolarz stopped 15 shots for the Leafs.

Only four NHL teams have come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series — the 1942 Leafs, 1975 Islanders, the 2010 Flyers and the 2014 Kings.

Game 6 is Thursday in Ottawa.

Toronto, which beat Ottawa four times in a five-playoff span in the early 2000s, dropped to 1-13 in potential series-clinching games in the Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner era dating back to the 2018 playoffs. That lone victory came in a first-round triumph over the Tampa Bay Lightning two years ago.

The Leafs took the opener of this series against its provincial rival 6-2 before back-to-back 3-2 overtime victories pushed them to a 3-0 lead. The Senators, meanwhile, picked up their first playoff victory since 2017 in Saturday’s extra-time decision that kept their season going.

Ottawa opened the scoring at 3:46 of Tuesday’s second period on a Chabot point shot that found its way past Stolarz through traffic following an offensive zone faceoff win for the defenseman’s first-ever playoff goal.

Toronto — with plenty of post-season baggage, including a blown 3-1 series lead in the 2021 playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens — looked disjointed as the period wore on before the home side finally started to push inside a tense Scotiabank Arena.

The Leafs got a power play in the third period when Ridly Greig needlessly tackled Marner along the boards.

The Senators, however, broke the other way and Cozens scored his first at 8:24 when he took a pass from Adam Gaudette on a 2-on-1 and fired past Stolarz as Ottawa scored short-handed for the second time in as many games against a five-forward man advantage.

Matthews, who hit the post in OT on Saturday with the series on his stick, found iron again with five minutes to go in regulation before Stutzle sealed it into the empty net with 2:51 to play.

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