Behind the Scenes: Locker Room Reaction Released After Simon Benoit's OT Heroics

With Game 3 off to a hot start even before the puck dropped, the Maple Leafs and Senators squared off with Toronto given the chance to take a commanding 3-0 lead and put Ottawa on the ropes; meanwhile the Sens could cut the deficit in half with a strong performance.

It was certainly the former as the blue and white snatched a victory in enemy territory off the back of Simon Benoit, an unlikely hero over the past couple of games that has proven he's much more important to the team than some realize.

He set up Max Domi's winner in Game 2, and rifled a slap shot past Linus Ullmark (with a bit of help from Matthews Knies). He's been a fantastic surprise this series, and his teammates were sure to show some appreciation.

A celebration was in order, and short of a champagne ceremony, the team decided to shower Benoit with a ton of praise.

The team was sure to give Benoit his flowers, and for good reason. He played arguably the best game of his career on Thursday, and gave Craig Berube every bit of confidence to keep him in the lineup and use him more aggressively.

He received the game puck from Max Domi, and Benny wasted no time in putting the puck in Toronto's record keeper; three down, one to go for the first round.

It was his first career playoff goal, and so far he's proven that whatever doubts surrounding his placement could be considered jumping the gun.

He's added seven blocks and 10 hits in those three games, and while he isn't the defensive caliber of Chris Tanev or Jake McCabe, and certainly doesn't have the offense like Morgan Rielly; he's a very solid third pairing option that's the type of player who helps playoff teams win championships.

It's not feasible to expect Benoit to keep this pace up, but for now it seems that the Maple Leafs are pretty glad that he's decided to show up and show out at the absolute perfect time.