Maple Leafs Solve Senators, 1-0

Mats Sundin got the Toronto Maple Leafs off to a fast start in their playoff rematch with the Ottawa Senators.

Sundin scored at 10:49 of overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 1-0 victory Friday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Ottawa won all five regular-season meetings with Toronto, which finished seventh in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s tough for both teams, especially when you go into overtime,” Sundin said. “I thought our effort was as good as it’s been all season, but it could easily have gone the other way.”

Sundin ripped a long slap shot past Senator goalie Patrick Lalime on a play set up by Steve Thomas.

“They had two guys going to the net, but I saw it at the last second,” said Lalime, who made 26 saves and was steady in his first playoff game. “It’s too bad. I felt pretty good, but the bottom line is that we lost.”

Curtis Joseph made 36 saves for the Maple Leafs, who defeated Ottawa, 2-0, in the playoff opener last season en route to a 4-2 series victory.

“We created a lot of good chances,” Ottawa’s Daniel Alfredsson said. “But you could tell both teams tightened up defensively. I don’t know if there was an odd-man rush all through regulation.”

The Leafs set the physical tone early, with Aki Berg catching Rob Zamuner with an open ice hit nine minutes into the first period.

Toronto nearly scored 5:33 into the third period, but a video replay showed that Nik Antropov batted a rebound of Sergei Berezin’s shot into the net with a high stick.

Lalime stood up well to the few Toronto chances, including a series of three close-range chances in a row by Sundin and Bryan McCabe early in the second. Lalime also made a kick save on Thomas’ slap shot in the final seconds of regulation.