Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for Ottawa. Thomas Chabot had two assists and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves.

The Maple Leafs advanced to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in their first-round series.

Toronto grabbed a 3-0 series lead, but Ottawa stayed alive with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 and a 4-0 shutout in Game 5.

The Maple Leafs finally put away the Senators in Game 6.

With the game tied at 2, Pacioretty — a heathy scratch to start the series — scored the winner with 5:39 remaining off a pass from Max Domi that beat Ullmark to the glove side. It was Pacioretty’s first goal of the playoffs.

Scott Laughton hit the post before Nylander iced it into the empty net with 18.3 seconds left.

Matthews put Toronto up 1-0 on a power play with 70 seconds left in the first period when he fired a low shot through traffic.

Nylander, on his 29th birthday, made it 2-0 just 43 seconds into the second when he ripped a shot past Ullmark after Pacioretty forced a turnover from Senators defenseman Nick Jensen.

Ottawa got on the board at 7:28 when Tkachuk tipped a shot past Stolarz.

Toronto, which beat Ottawa four times in five playoffs series in the early 2000s, came close to restoring its two-goal lead when John Tavares poked a loose puck off the post before Ullmark denied Matthew Knies and Brandon Carlo off the rush.

Perron scored with 7:20 left in regulation to tie it on a shot from below the goal line that went in off Stolarz’s back to make it 2-2.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) makes a save against the Ottawa Senators during the second period of an NHL playoff hockey game in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Credit: AP

icon to expand image

Credit: AP

Ottawa Senators' Brady Tkachuk (7) scores against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) during the second period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Credit: AP

icon to expand image

Credit: AP

Ottawa Senators' Michael Amadio, right, is knocked off his skates after a hit into the boards by Toronto Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit (2) during the second period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Credit: AP

icon to expand image

Credit: AP

Ottawa Senators' Tim Stutzle (18) shoots against Toronto Maple Leafs' Scott Laughton (24) and Steven Lorentz (18) during the second period of Game 6 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series in Ottawa, Ontario, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Credit: AP

icon to expand image

Credit: AP