Maple Leafs keep pace in Atlantic

In Ottawa, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mark Giordano struck for the game-winner on Saturday night to give them a 5-4 win over the Senators in extra time.

“It was a pretty good crowd for us tonight,” Giordano said. “I thought there were a lot of Leaf fans in the building. Really good atmosphere. I’ve noticed that since I’ve been here, the atmosphere in away buildings. It’s pretty nice to know that wherever you play, you know you’re going to get that good buzz in the building.”

Giordano had three points on the night.

“It’s big. Those are big goals,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “They’re the type of goals that get the team to really rally and celebrate. It’s a deserving moment for [Giordano], who’s just come in here and done an excellent job for us.”

Erik Kallgren made 25 saves in the Leafs win.

Tim Stutzle and  Michael Del Zotto each had a goal for the Sens to give them a 2-0 lead.

“He (Stutzle) continues to get better,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “He’s playing against the league’s best and he’s not backing down. Again, he might have been the best player out there, he’s one of them. There’s certainly some high- end players over there, but [he’s] really coming.”

Mitchell Marner hit for a double for the Maple Leafs.

“We didn’t come out the way we wanted to,” Marner said. “We knew they were going to come at us fast and try to get behind us. They did a good job of that, but I thought the second period and third period there, we kind of just took over and played the game we needed to. And we got the result we wanted.”

Stutzle had two goals in the game.

Michael Bunting and Kyle Clifford  added single marker for Toronto.

“I think he’s (Giordano) a huge part of our team. He’s a veteran,” Bunting said. “And he came in and had that veteran presence right away. He was the captain for a very long time in Calgary and then the captain in Seattle. He carries [himself] like that. He’s a great add and a great guy off the ice, and he’s playing unbelievable for us right now.”

Dylan Gambrell also scored for Ottawa.

Anton Forsberg made 36 saves in the Ottawa loss.

“[Auston] Matthews and Marner are some of the best players in the league,” Stutzle said. “Those are the guys I love watching every night and I watch the highlights every time. They make so many nice plays together and they play with so much confidence. Those are two guys I try to mold my game after, and playing against them I think gives me a huge push.”