Kasperi Kapanen may have been the glittery hero of Game 2 Saturday in Washington but the real star of the game was Frederik Andersen for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Kapanen scored twice including a strike in the second overtime to send the Leafs to a 
4-3 win over Washington and a 1-1 series tie.
“I’ve got a lot of energy for sure,” Kapanen said. “Two big goals, and I think our team played really well today. We deserved to win, and I’m just really happy about the outcome.”
Andersen was spectacular in the Leafs net after surrendering a third goal in the third period, this time to Nicklas Backstrom that forced overtime.
Andersen made 47 saves in the win and was under barrage for much of the latter half of regulation and in the overtime sessions.
The game-winner came on a brilliant, no-look backhand pass from Brian Boyle behind the cage to Kapanen who caught it and poked it into a gaping maw of a net for the winner.
“I think one of their [defensemen] lost their stick there and I was yelling for [the puck],” Kapanen said. “There was a clear lane there, and [Boyle] made an amazing pass, so I got to put it in the empty net.”
Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson also scored for Washington.
“I think we proved to everybody that we can play with these guys, and we’re the underdogs, but the way we’ve been playing, I think we can be better in certain areas, so we’re going to give them a run for their money,” Kapanen said.
James van Riemsdyk and Morgan Rielly struck for goals for the Leafs in regulation.
“Great feeling to win. We’re happy with the way we played last game, but to lose in overtime was tough. We were on the other end of it tonight,” Rielly said. “It feels great to go home with a split. And as far as the minutes go, we’ll be fine. We’ve got young legs and we’ve got lots of training staff. We know what we have to do to prepare for the next [game], and so we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we’re ready.”
[WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Capitals highlights | RELATED: Complete Toronto vs. Washington series coverage]
Braden Holtby made 47 stops in taking the loss.
“We played a fairly decent first period,” Holtby said. “Just didn’t quite get the breaks and they got a goal on us. That’s what happens. But we battled back. It was a hard-fought game.”
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