Senators top Leafs in OT to stay alive in Battle of Ontario

The Senators have a pulse in the Battle of Ontario.

Jake Sanderson scored at 17:32 in overtime as Ottawa survived a blown 2-0 lead to top Toronto 4-3 and stay alive in the teams' first-round playoff series Saturday.

The defenceman fired a shot through a screen that kept his team alive and gave the organization its first post-season victory since the 2017 Eastern Conference final.

The Maple Leafs still hold a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven matchup. Game 5 goes Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto and David Perron had the other goals for the Senators, who are in the post-season for the first time in eight years. Linus Ullmark made 32 saves. Sanderson added an assist for a two-point night.

John Tavares, Matthew Knies and Oliver Ekman-Larsson replied for the Leafs. Anthony Stolarz stopped 18 shots. William Nylander added two assists.

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

Toronto, which entered on an eight-game winning streak dating back to the regular season, beat Ottawa four times in five playoffs in the early 2000s — including an opening-round sweep in 2001.

Ottawa survived a four-minute Toronto power play earlier in the extra period, as Leafs captain Auston Matthews hit the post on a scramble after Senators forward Drake Batherson was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking.

Perron broke a 2-2 tie at 7:32 of the third on a feed from defenceman Artem Zub after some sustained pressure in the offensive zone to send the towel-waving Canadian Centre Tire crowd into a frenzy.

The Leafs pushed as the clock ticked down, and Ekman-Larsson buried his second with 5:29 left in regulation off a cross-ice Nylander pass.

Back in the playoffs following a long rebuild, the Senators opened the scoring on a power play at 9:03 of the first after Leafs winger Max Domi took an undisciplined roughing penalty on a faceoff where he punched Pinto before the puck was dropped.

Stutzle took advantage by blasting a one-timer past Stolarz's glove at the near post for the Senators, who fell 6-2 in the opener before suffering back-to-back 3-2 overtime losses.

The Leafs goaltender and defenceman Jake McCabe then scrambled to clear a loose put out of the crease on a chaotic sequence.