Matthews, Knies each has 3 points, Maple Leafs score 7 to hold off Senators

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews had a goal and two assists, and Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-5 win against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.

“It was an emotional game tonight,” Matthews said. “You knew coming in, it’s a divisional opponent, two teams that don’t like each other much, history especially with the playoffs from last year. It was an emotional game, a passionate game and it was going to take to the last second, the last buzzer to get the job done.”

Max Domi had three assists, Nicholas Robertson had a goal and an assist, and Joseph Woll made 26 saves for the Maple Leafs (17-15-5), who have won two in a row after losing five of their previous six.

“It’s a physical battle with this team, we know that,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “I liked our battle tonight and physicality. We just got a little loose in the third.”

Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, who also scored, left the game at 6:22 of the second period and did not return because of a lower-body injury, but will travel with the team to Detroit. Berube said his status for Sunday against the Red Wings is unclear.

Tim Stutzle scored to extend his point streak to nine games (eight goals, eight assists) and goal streak to four games (four goals), and Jordan Spence had a goal and an assist for the Senators (18-14-5), who were 3-0-2 in their previous five games. Linus Ullmark was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 14 shots. Leevi Merilainen made 16 saves in relief.

“There was a little rust on a lot of players I think on both sides,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “I really liked our first period, liked our third, didn’t like our second.”

Bobby McMann gave Toronto a 3-2 lead at 3:28 of the second period when he poked in a loose puck behind Ullmark while standing at the side of the net.

Matthews extended it to 4-2 at 7:28, putting in a rebound in the slot after Ullmark juggled a point shot from Domi.

Robertson then pushed it to 5-2 at 8:32 when he one-timed a pass from Knies past Merilainen’s left pad.

“I thought we turned over a few pucks and then we got tired,” Green said. “It was one of those games where you haven’t skated in three days, you’re on a break, if you get tired, you’re going to be in trouble. Some of our shifts were longer because we turned over the puck not just in our zone or the neutral zone but in the offensive zone. Then you have to backcheck and play in your own zone for a while.”

Drake Batherson scored 14 seconds into the third period to cut it to 5-3 after he got behind Oliver Ekman-Larsson and took a pass from Dylan Cozens in the slot before shooting over a sprawling Woll.

Stutzle made it 5-4 at 5:07 when he pulled the puck off the half boards, cut into the slot and shot off Woll’s glove.

Knies responded to put Toronto up 6-4 at 5:53. After Morgan Rielly cut to the net, he swung a pass into the slot for Knies, who dove to slide a backhand past Merilainen.

Spence cut it to 6-5 on his own rebound at 9:18. After his initial shot hit Claude Giroux at the top of the goal crease, Spence shot from the slot past Woll, who was out of position.

Tavares then scored into an empty net at 18:44 for the 7-5 final.

“That was a playoff game,” Domi said. “Every game from here on out is going to be like a playoff game and that’s how you have to treat it. Everyone was battling, everyone was competing every shift.

“They’re a heck of a team. You have to respect them, they play hard and have some serious talent. When teams like that go head-to-head, especially when they’re a couple hours down the road and they’re ahead of us, we’re trying to claw back in here, every game is going to feel like (a battle) now.”

Nylander’s power-play goal gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead 40 seconds into the first period when he took a pass from Matthews to put him in alone on Ullmark before beating the Senators goalie with a backhand deke.

Knies scored on the power play to make it 2-0 at 14:42, one-timing a pass from Domi over Ullmark’s glove from the slot. The goal ended a nine-game drought.

“In morning skate, we were working on it the whole time,” Knies said of the play. “It was a good sift from him there.”

Nick Cousins cut it to 2-1 at 17:50 when he put a rebound from Jordan Spence’s shot past Woll’s outstretched left pad.

Ridly Greig tied it 2-2 with a goal 18 seconds into the second period when he outbattled Philippe Myers on a breakaway and got the puck on net. Myers fell while backchecking and ended up driving the loose puck into the net as he slid into Woll.

NOTES: Matthews recorded his 416th career goal and tied Tony Amonte for 10th place on the NHL’s all-time list among U.S.-born skaters. … Ottawa had won each of the past five regular-season games against Toronto dating to Dec. 27, 2023. … Giroux, who had two assists, played his 1,300th NHL game. … Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton played his 700th NHL game. … The seven goals matched Toronto’s single-game season high set twice this season (October 14, a 7-4 win against the Nashville Predators; November 29, a 7-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins).