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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kasperi Kapanen likes the big moments. He thrives in them.

The 20-year-old scored the overtime winner to deliver gold for Finland at the 2016 World Junior championships, and the game-tying goal in the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the game where Toronto clinched a playoff berth. On Saturday night, he scored once in regulation and was the double-overtime hero for the Leafs, scoring the game-winner and tying their playoff series with the Washington Capitals in a 4-3 victory. Kapanen became the seventh Leafs rookie to score an overtime playoff goal, and the first since Gerry Ehman in 1959. He’s also the first Toronto player to score an OT playoff goal since Mats Sundin in April 2001.

The Maple Leafs played half of Game 2 with only five defencemen and still managed to steal a win on Washington’s turf, showing once and for all their inexperience was never going to make them an easy out for the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

“I think all the young guys on this team have played in big games; this is [just] their first time in the Stanley Cup playoffs,” Kapanen said. “I think winning at least one game in Washington was something we were definitely going for. I think we've proven to everybody we could play with these guys. We're the underdogs for sure but the way we've been playing…we can give them a run for their money.”

Toronto took an early lead on Saturday just as they did on Thursday, but the Capitals responded with two power play goals in the second to take their first series lead in regulation. Then, for a team already playing with a depleted defence, disaster struck.

With six minutes remaining in the second period, a hard hit from Capitals defenceman Brooks Orpik sent Roman Polak to the ice where he landed awkwardly on his right leg as his skate got caught underneath him. He was eventually helped off the ice by teammates and trainers, unable to put any weight on his right side. Mike Babcock confirmed after the game that Polak won’t return this season.

Rookie phenom Nikita Zaitsev was already watching Saturday’s game from the press box (upper-body injury) and the loss of Polak made the Maple Leafs’ already weak right side even weaker. There was nothing they could do but solider on with who they had, through the longest game some of Toronto’s young players had ever been in. No defender had played more than 30 minutes all season for Toronto, but Jake Gardiner hit 40:42 on Saturday, followed by Morgan Rielly at 40:12. Martin Marincin had only played one game in over a month and clocked 30:41. Securing a victory required as full a team effort as the Maple Leafs have gotten all season.

“That’s part of growing up in this league, part of learning how hard it is to get through some series,” said Brian Boyle. “Two overtime games, it’s a baptism by fire for some of these guys, and that’s a great thing for them. It’s a great opportunity for them to have. And I think the veterans on this team are impressed with what they can do and what they have done, so we still want to be a part of it, too.” 

Frederik Andersen had a monster night between the pipes for Toronto, and was the absolute difference-maker for them from start to finish in a 47-save performance. When the Maple Leafs lost Polak, Andersen put his team on his back and made one critical save after another to hold the Capitals at bay. The game-tying goal in the third period by Nicklas Backstrom is the only one Andersen allowed in regulation after Toronto was down to five defenders, and it was Gardiner’s inability to corral and clear the puck that left it for Backstrom to pocket.

“Freddie makes it easy. He was by far our best player tonight,” said Gardiner.  “When a goalie gets hot like that, it makes it easier for us. But I think as whole we played well, good team hockey up and down the ice and we battled through it.”

While the Maple Leafs were visibly relieved to be headed back to Toronto even with the Capitals, there are corrections to be made. The Leafs were chasing Washington too much in their own zone, losing the possession battle in the process (45 per cent to the Capitals’ 55 percent), and defensive breakdowns like on Backstrom’s goal will almost always end up in the net.

Alexey Marchenko is waiting in the wings to replace Polak, and Zaitsev will skate on Sunday, but it seems likely the Maple Leafs will call up another body from the AHL. Connor Carrick also only played 18:44 over nearly five periods of hockey, a surprisingly low total considering what Toronto had left on the backend.

Toronto hasn’t shied away from giving its young players on-the-job training all season. While the big stages have no reason to intimidate them, they do have to be a place where they can continue to grow at an accelerated rate.

“We earned [the win], and I think we should feel pretty good about [tonight],” Boyle said. “But we understand if we move through all the tape of the game and we see kind of what happened, you see how razor-thin the margin for error is. Pucks can go in. The game could have ended a lot earlier. They’re a great club. We’ve got a lot of respect for them. But we need to kind of control that and understand that our systems work, and we believe in them.”

“I think over the course of a game that long it’s draining mentally and it’s easy to make mistakes,” added Rielly. “But I think we did a good job as a team backing each other up, picking each other up when we needed to.”

“We feel like we have more to give. It’s a good feeling going back with a split.”

Takeaways

Super James: When it comes to the postseason, James van Riemsdyk has proven time and again he can take his game to the next level. In the only other series he’s played with the Maple Leafs (back in 2013 against the Bruins), van Riemsdyk registered seven points in seven games and was among Toronto’s best players. On Saturday he was everything Toronto needed him to be. van Riemsdyk gave Toronto a lead late in the first period, roofing a hard shot past Braden Holtby after Jake Gardiner set the scoring play up with a terrific deke move at the blue line. Then, the veteran posted up with the screen on Holtby to help Morgan Rielly’s point blast find the back of the net to put the Maple Leafs up 3-2 late in the second. van Riemsdyk has upped his physicality level too, playing heavy with the puck but still needing to spend less time with linemates Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner in his own zone (they were all at 40 per cent possession and below). With two points in the first two games of this series, van Riemsdyk is once again an MVP for the Leafs.

Fantastic Four(th): Having played more than 100 playoff games in his career, Boyle knows the importance of being able to roll four lines and have each contribute. His fourth line group with Matt Martin and Kapanen was excellent on Saturday throughout. On Kapanen’s game-winner, Martin got the puck out along the boards to Boyle, who executed a perfect backwards pass to the rookie on Holtby’s doorstep. All night long they were playing a heavy cycle game that challenged the Capitals, keeping them hemmed in their own zone and chasing the puck. Kapanen has made a noticeable effort to increase his physical game, and it’s showed over the first two games as he’s finishing checks with authority while still finding pucks and making positive plays. His great pass to Boyle on the rush in the third period nearly set up another goal for that group, but Holtby made a sliding save to kick the puck aside.  Martin has been laying the number all season and Boyle is the battle-tested leader the Leafs knew they’d need to make – and compete – in the playoffs, but for the pure goal scorer like Kapanen committing to playing their grittier brand of hockey has made the fourth line more dangerous than ever. They finished with 8 shots on goal and six points combined.

(Super) bad boys: There was no excuse for Toronto not to play disciplined hockey against the Capitals – Babcock and his players had been stressing the importance of it all week. The three opportunities (and one goal) they gave Washington in Game 1 was bad enough; Toronto took four through the first two periods, and three in rapid succession in the second period that allowed the Capitals to score twice. Nazem Kadri’s infraction was retaliatory and particularly bad – the eight-year veteran was called for cross-checking T.J. Oshie, after Oshie hit him first and then Kadri came back swinging with several smacks before being pulled away by the officials. Washington had already tested Toronto’s penalty killers with two goals in that frame; to put them back on the ice in that situation showed a lack of maturity on Kadri’s part that Toronto can’t afford. The Leafs finished 3-for-5 on the kill, and 1-for-4 on the power play.

Next game: Toronto will head home to welcome in the Capitals for Game 3 on Monday.​