TORONTO — Marcus Johansson stuffed his second goal of the game past Frederik Andersen at 6:31 of overtime, lifting the Washington Capitals to a series-ending 2-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 6 on Sunday night.

Johansson pulled Washington even at 1-1 with less than eight minutes to go in regulation after Auston Matthews broke a scoreless tie with his fourth goal of the series for Toronto.

It was the fifth overtime game of the series, and the record-setting 18th in the first round of the playoffs.

Braden Holtby made 37 saves for the Capitals, who will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Andersen was sharp with 34 saves in his 34th career playoff start. He stopped Evgeny Kuznetsov in tight early in the second period and stuck a left pad out on Justin Williams’ shot midway through the second.

NOTES

PENGUINS: Forward Chris Kunitz returned to practice on Sunday, giving the defending Stanley Cup champions hope the veteran forward can contribute at some point during the team’s postseason run.

Kunitz, 37, hasn’t played since being diagnosed with a “longer term” lower-body injury following a victory over the New York Rangers on March 31. The Penguins have been off since eliminating Columbus from the playoffs in five games on Thursday.

DUCKS: Cam Fowler returned to practice, and the All-Star defenseman could be on target for a quick return to the lineup.

Nearly three weeks after injuring his knee, Fowler skated with his teammates on Sunday when they returned from a three-day break after sweeping Calgary out of the first round of the playoffs.

Fowler has been out since April 4, when Calgary captain Mark Giordano hurt him with a knee-on-knee hit.

KINGS: Los Angeles has promoted associated head coach John Stevens to become the next head coach.

Stevens replaces Darryl Sutter after serving as an assistant to two head coaches over the past eight seasons, which included the franchise’s only two Stanley Cup championships.

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