Former Washington Capitals forward Max Pacioretty played an unlikely hero and scored his biggest goal as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Thursday night.<\/p>\n
With 5:39 remaining in the third period, the 36-year-old Pacioretty took a pass from Leafs forward Max Domi and fired a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle past Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Pacioretty tally gave the Leafs a 3-2 lead and would go on to be the series-winning goal in Toronto\u2019s 4-2 victory, eliminating the Ottawa Senators in Game 6 at Canadian Tire Centre.<\/p>\n
The goal marked Pacioretty\u2019s first tally since literally last year, December 20 against the Buffalo Sabres, and his first playoff goal since June 22, 2021 against the Montreal Canadiens, when he was a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot,\u201d Pacioretty said of his game-winning goal<\/a>. \u201cYou keep playing because you want to pitch in. And obviously, when you\u2019re sitting out and the team is winning, you\u2019re happy for them, but you want to be a part of it and I\u2019m just thankful for the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge goal, obviously,\u201d added<\/a> Toronto coach Craig Berube \u201cHe did a real good job for us. Veteran guy, he\u2019s been around, he\u2019s played in a lot of playoff games, so he came through tonight for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Pacioretty, who also had the primary assist on a second-period William Nylander goal, suffered a lower-body injury in November<\/a> and missed the final two months of the regular season with an undisclosed injury on Feb. 8 before returning in Game 3. The former Canadiens captain is also two years removed from tearing his Achilles tendon for a second time<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of conversations with people in my family and others and I thought that I was done playing a number of times,\u201d Pacioretty said. \u201cEveryone always supported me to keep going, but my story is just one of many and it\u2019s one that is public, so it\u2019s one that\u2019s talked about. But a lot of resilient guys in this organization, been through a lot as well. Guys like that motivate me to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n