Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning goal in overtime against the Ottawa Senators in Game 2 of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena. The Maple Leafs won 3-2 on April 22, 2025.Dan Hamilton/Reuters
Twenty-one years after his father scored a game-winning playoff goal against the Ottawa Senators at what was then known as the Air Canada Centre, Max Domi put his own stamp on the Battle of Ontario.
The versatile forward beat Linus Ullmark at the 3:09 mark of the first overtime period Tuesday night, as the Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded after surrendering an early 2-0 lead to emerge with a 3-2 victory. More importantly, it gives them a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series heading to Ottawa for Thursday’s Game 3.
“Tonight was just a huge win for our group,” Domi said after scoring his first career OT playoff goal. “We needed that one, and it’s behind us. Now, got to flush it and get ready for the next one. It’s going to be the toughest one yet.”
Domi was just nine years old when his father Tie scored the winner in Game 5 of the 2004 Battle of Ontario, the previous time the two Ontario rivals had met in the playoffs. Like the other three that took place between 2000-02, Toronto went on to win that series.
With Tuesday’s goal, Max and Tie Domi became the first father-son duo in NHL history to score a game-winning goal with the same franchise against the same franchise.
Ottawa head coach Travis Green was a teammate of Tie Domi’s during some of those Battle of Ontario battles, and remembers the younger Domi hanging around the locker room.
“Energetic guy,” Green said. “You could tell he was going to be a good hockey player from a young age, and obviously I know his dad well. Always like seeing him have success, but obviously not tonight.”
Though up 2-0 in the series, it was far from a convincing win from the Leafs. First-period goals from Morgan Rielly and John Tavares had staked Toronto to an early lead, before the Senators pegged them back through Brady Tkachuk and Adam Gaudette as the Battle of Ontario went to sudden death for the first time in since Game 6 of the 2004 series, won by the Sens’ Mike Fisher in double overtime.
Convincing or not though, the Maple Leafs now have history firmly on their side after winning the first two games of a postseason for the first time since 2002, when they took a 2-0 lead against the Islanders.
Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven series have gone to win the series 86.3 per cent of the time, with a combined record of 353-63. And that number is even better for those franchises who start their series on home ice – like the Leafs in this series - improving to 88.7 per cent when those teams win the opening pair.
But the Ottawa head coach felt good about the performance of his team Tuesday night, and particularly the fight his young players showed to claw their way back into the game.
“There is no reason to panic,” Green said. “We came on the road, played two road games, like we said earlier, we probably deserved a better fate tonight, but that’s part of playoff hockey.”
Rielly had staked Toronto to an early lead with his second goal of the playoffs, tying Leaf great Ian Turnbull for the franchise lead among defencemen with his 13th career postseason goal. Tavares followed that up less than five minutes later as Toronto again showed its quick-strike capability on the power play, with the former Leafs captain converting 18 seconds into the man advantage.
But Tkachuk’s first career playoff goal, a power-play marker at the 15:41 mark of the second period, was fully merited as Ottawa owned the second period, outshooting the Leafs 13-3. Then Gaudette, who played a season for the Leafs’ farm team, the Toronto Marlies, sent the game to overtime, tipping a puck over the shoulder of goaltender Anthony Stolarz.
And while the Leaf players would obviously have rather held out for a regulation victory, there was little panic as the game moved to sudden death.
“Just calm, I think excited for the opportunity, knowing that there’s still great opportunity to win the hockey game,” said Tavares, who finished with a goal and as assist. “So I think it’s been a lot of the attitude that the group’s developed throughout the year, and becomes very critical at this time of the season.”
Though Domi captured many of the headlines, it was Stolarz who made sure the team had a chance to earn the win, making 26 saves for his second career playoff victory in his second-ever postseason start. As a result, he became just the sixth goaltender in team history to win his first two postseason games with the franchise, joining Ken Wregget, Mike Palmateer, Bernie Parent, Frank McCool and Lorne Chabot.
“He’s answered the bell, and he’s been outstanding for us so far this series,” Rielly said. “So I think as a group, we have some improvements to make, but there’s no question that he’s been a stud for us.”