Caps come back to beat Leafs on Wilson's OT winner
WASHINGTON -- Tom Wilson scored 5:15 into overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a come-from-behind, 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Wilson stopped a clearing attempt in the Toronto zone, moved into the right circle and fired high past Frederik Andersen for his first career playoff goal.
Justin Williams scored twice, his fourth career postseason multi-goal game, and Braden Holtby stopped 35 shots for the Presidents' Trophy winners.
The Maple Leafs took a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by rookie Mitchell Marner and Jake Gardiner.
Williams answered with one in the first period and one in the second.
Andersen finished with 41 saves.
Both goalies made big saves in the scoreless third period to maintain the 2-2 tie.
First, Holtby stopped Marner after he created an opening in front, and then Andersen stopped Nicklas Backstrom from point-blank range moments later. Then with 3:29 left, Andersen gloved Marcus Johansson's redirect attempt.
In the playoffs for the first time since 2013, Toronto took a quick 1-0 lead.
Holtby went to his right to make a save on James van Riemsdyk on the rush. Van Riemsdyk sent the rebound toward the net and it caromed off the post out to Marner, who banged it home at 1:35 of the first period.
Toronto's second goal, an unassisted tally by Gardiner from the slot at 9:44, was initially waved off due to goaltender's interference on Nazem Kadri. Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock challenged the call and, after a review, the goal was allowed.
Back-to-back penalties on Toronto's Brian Boyle and Zach Hyman gave Washington a 90-second, five-on-three advantage midway through the first.
The Capitals caught a break just after the Boyle penalty ended when defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk's stick broke on his shot attempt. The puck skittered over to T.J. Oshie, who quickly passed in front to Williams for the tap-in that made it 2-1
Toronto was on the verge of taking that 2-1 lead into the third period, but when Andersen made a save on Matt Niskanen and lost sight of the puck in front of him, Williams swooped in and banged it home for his second goal with 4:00 left in the second.
NOTES: Toronto played without D Nikita Zaitsev, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. ... C Mitchell Marner became the first Maple Leafs rookie to score a playoff goal since Jeff Farkas on May 6, 2000, vs. the New Jersey Devils. ... Washington D John Carlson was in the lineup after missing the last four regular-season games with a lower-body injury. D Taylor Chorney, D Nate Schmidt and C Paul Carey sat for the Capitals. ... D Martin Marincin was in the lineup in place of Zaitsev. Other Toronto scratches included D Alexey Marchenko, LW Josh Leivo and C Eric Fehr, who practiced for the first time since breaking a finger last month. ... Capitals F Justin Williams now has 35 career postseason goals. ... Washington D Kevin Shattenkirk's assist was the 25th of his career in the postseason.