The Toronto Maple Leafs were as close to winning their series with Washington as possible.
In the end, they could not quite get over the hump and on Sunday they dropped a 
2-10overtime decision in Game 6.
Marcus Johansson scored his second goal of the game 6:31 into the extra session to send Washington on to the second round versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“It’s going to be tight; it’s never going to be an easy ride,” Johansson said. “I think it’s good for us where we kind of got a start where everything just didn’t go smoothly. You have to work hard and battle for it.”
The Penguins have had a few extra days to rest since eliminating the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games.
Braden Holtby made 37 saves to get the win and silence the boo-birds, at least for now.
“I know earlier in the series [Holtby] took some criticism and there were a lot of doubters out there,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “The only people who doubted him were the people on the outside. But in our room, there was no doubt. He’s been too good for too long, he makes those key saves and that’s why he’s a Vezina candidate the last few years.”
The Leafs took a 1-0 lead in the third period on a goal from Auston Matthews when he collected the puck in the slot after it deflected off the supports on the right boards.
“Bounces like that happen. I try to focus on every game as just a game, no other outside things, playoffs, regular season or whatever,” Holtby said. “I break down a goal, what I did well and what I didn’t and move on. But I think the big thing was our team didn’t sag at all, we got better. Throughout the series bounces weren’t going our way but we got mentally stronger as it went on. [We said] we’re not going to let that affect us, that we’re still going to play through everything, and it showed.”
The Leafs seemed to go into a defensive shell and allowed Washington to push the play into their zone.
“I didn’t think we had the puck much after that,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “You have a chance to walk out the door in overtime; it’s in your building, you’re [facing] elimination but we didn’t push them, they pushed us, they were better.”
[WATCH: All Capitals vs. Maple Leafs highlights | RELATED: Complete Washington vs. Toronto series coverage]
Frederik Andersen made 34 saves and was just one short of getting the Leafs to Game 8 but Johansson’s regulation goal dribbled between the pads and across the line.
“It’s an empty feeling. We’ve grown a lot and [have] a lot to be proud of, but very tough feeling right now. It’s awesome to be in this community, to be part of this team. The support we have here is unbelievable, a lot to build off, but it’s tough,” Andersen said after the loss.
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