Eugene Melnyk believed in the Ottawa Senators -- bullishly, unabashedly and with trademark bravado. It's what made the Senators' late owner such a lightning rod around the league. And his stance was firm until he died in 2022 that Ottawa would rise again to be a playoff contender.

This marked the fifth time the modern Senators – who returned to the NHL for the 1992-93 season – met the Toronto Maple Leafs in the postseason, and it has never gone well for them. The “Battle of Ontario” has amounted, at best, to a skirmish.

Defenseman Jake Sanderson scored on a long wrist shot from the left boards at 17:42 of overtime and the Ottawa Senators beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Saturday night to force a fifth game in the