Leafs edge Sens

Morgan Rielly scored the winner midway through the third period of a back-and-forth game as the Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Ottawa Senators 5-4 Wednesday night.

Rielly started the rush after a Sens turnover. After racing up the ice, he passed to Zach Hyman, whose backhand pass found Rielly alone in front of the goal for his 14th of the season at 9:12. It was also Rielly’s career-high 53rd point of the season.

The Sens piled on the pressure with the goaltender out but could not score.

Trailing 2-1 the Leafs scored three goals in four minutes late in the second period to pull ahead. Auston Matthews, fresh off news of a contract extension, scored what had looked to be the winning goal at 3-2 while Mitch Marner set up two others to press his case for a lucrative new deal.

But Ottawa pulled even at 4-4 early in the third on goals by Thomas Chabot and Magnus Paajarvi, his second of the night, in a stretch of three minutes 19 seconds.

Toronto (33-17-3) won its third straight and fourth of its last five (4-0-1). The Senators (19-29-5) suffered their fifth straight loss.

The Leafs came into the game flushed with news of Matthews’ US$58.2 million, five-year contract extension.

“Welcome home Auston,” said one sign in the stands. “Drink$ on you?”

Matthews opened his NHL career against the Sens on Oct. 12, 2016 at Ottawa where he set a league record for goals scored in an NHL debut (4).