Morgan Rielly scored with 45 seconds left in overtime to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at the Amalie Arena.
Toronto takes a 2-1 series lead with Game 4 scheduled for Monday night.
Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and two assists, Noel Acciari and Auston Matthews each scored, and Mitch Marner had two assists for the Maple Leafs. Ilya Samsonov made 36 saves.
"I think 'Sammy' was the biggest thing", O'Reilly said. "Getting out of that second period down by just one was a huge thing. It wasn't our best by any means, but we stuck with it. Everyone got working, and that's a big one for us."
Brandon Hagel had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay while Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 23 shots.
"We think we played a great game, but it is what it is", Hagel said. "They got one in the end and one in overtime, so we're down 2-1 in the series. But it's a seven-game series, and if we continue to play like that, I love our chances."
Maple Leafs steal Game 3 from three-time defending Eastern Conference champions
Acciari put the Maple Leafs up 1-0, taking a pass from Matthew Knies and scoring with a wrist shot from the high slot.
Anthony Cirelli tied the game 66 seconds later as his shot from the edge of the right circle beat Samsonov at the far post.
Matthews redirected a shot by Marner to give Toronto a 2-1 lead, but Hagel evened things up with 28 seconds left in the first, his shot from the bottom of the right circle hitting the stick of Maple Leafs defenseman TJ Brodie and deflecting through Samsonov's legs.
With 6:26 left in the second period, the Lightning took their first lead of the game. Darren Raddysh skated around the net, took a hit from Jake McCabe and curled into the left circle, beating Samsonov short side.
It could have been 4-2 after Brayden Point poked a loose puck past Samsonov, but the referee blew his whistle before the puck crossed the goal line.
With a minute left in regulation, O'Reilly tied the game with a rebound from inside the crease.
Rielly then won it with a wrist shot from the point following a faceoff win by O'Reilly and Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe was pleased with his team's ability to stick with the gameplan.
"I thought we pulled it out because we stayed with it", he said. "We bent but we did not break. I don't think we played poorly. I thought the Lightning played incredibly well, but we stayed with it.
"At times we had to rely on 'Sammy' tonight. Because we defended well and battled hard, they didn't get a lot to our net."
Tampa Bay may be down, but they aren't out as expressed by captain and future Hall of Famer Steven Stamkos.
"It was probably the best game we played in the series", he said. "If we continue to play like that, I like our chances. I thought we probably, not probably, I think we did deserve to win.
"But give them credit, they stuck with it. That's what really good hockey teams do, they find ways to win."