Heading into Game 4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators' collective backs were against the proverbial wall.

After finishing off the regular season with a 45-30-7 record, including a losing record at home, if Ottawa didn't secure the victory, they would be heading home for an early vacation. And if they won? Well, they'd need to string together three more after that, which is anything but easy against Auston Matthews and company.

And yet, after taking things to overtime following a hard-fought game on their home ice, the Senators found new life thanks to defenseman Jake Sanderson, who broke the tie with a goal to keep his team alive and send the game to Toronto for Game 5.

Discussing the game at the end of regulation, Sanderson celebrated the win, as he loved being able to keep the season going.

“Yeah, it was awesome, especially just ending up on the glass there and, you know, turning to them all so excited,” Sanderson declared to Senators reporters. “But, you know, I feel like we'll enjoy this for a little bit tonight, but, you know, shift our focus on the next game pretty quickly here.”

Sanderson also had some kind things to say about his teammate, Tyler Kleven, who helped to set up the win. While Sander may be the game's hero, he's proud of his teammate, too, for helping to set the team up for success.
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“He was awesome. You know, I saw early in the game he was feeling it, skating the puck, shooting it, so, yeah, he keeps playing better and better,” Sanderson said. 

“You know, he's a big body and a lot of guys are trying to get the puck off him, so, you know, like I said, I think he was feeling it tonight and, you know, his role is going to elevate, I think, as the playoffs go on just because of how good he's playing.“

With a win in their pocket, who knows, maybe the Senators will be able to do the incredibly unlikely and come back from 0-3 to win the series. For that to happen, however, they'll need to secure the win in Ottawa, which is a lot easier said than done.