WASHINGTON -- Once again, three periods were not enough in the evenly matched series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Washington Capitals.

For the fourth time in five games, it took overtime to decide a winner. And when it comes to big games and memorable moments, there might not be anyone better in the league than Justin Williams.

The Capitals' veteran winger scored 64 seconds into overtime Friday night and Washington pulled out a 2-1 thriller over the Maple Leafs to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"You talk about big moments, that's one of the reasons why you love Justin Williams right there," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "He's a winner. Plain and simple."

Williams' third goal of the playoffs and the 36th of his career in the postseason was keyed by a big faceoff win from Jay Beagle and then set up from assists by Marcus Johansson and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Williams beat Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen through the five-hole and jumped into the arms of his teammates to celebrate a hard-fought win.

"To win a championship, you have to relish these moments and come up big in these moments," Williams said.

For the Leafs, the quick end left a bitter taste after playing the Caps even in a hostile road environment.

"It was a bang-bang play," said Andersen, who finished with 26 saves. "It's a tough way to end it."

The Capitals got a scare in the first period when Toronto center Nazem Kadri delivered what looked to be a low hip check on the left knee of Washington star Alexander Ovechkin, who flipped in the air and lay on the ice for several minutes before being helped off the ice by two teammates.

"I just kind of tried to get a piece of him and he tried to get out of the way," Kadri said. "It's not like I stuck my knee out or got my arms high or anything like that. It happened pretty quick. From what I saw, it was OK."

Kadri was whistled for tripping, and on the ensuing power play, T.J. Oshie made the Leafs pay when he collected a rebound from a Nicklas Backstrom shot that pinged off the crossbar and beat Andersen to give the Capitals a 1-0 advantage at 18:15 of the opening period.

"I was watching TV," Ovechkin said of his time in the locker room. "I was having a Coke and enjoying the match."

Ovechkin emerged from the tunnel to an enormous roar to start the second period and, on his opening shift, delivered a rattling hit to show he was fine. Both coaches bit their tongues when asked about the hit.

The Maple Leafs continued their trend of "dirty" goals, when, in the second period, William Nylander fired a shot in the direction of Capitals goalie Braden Holtby and a heavily trafficked front of the net. The puck ricocheted right to the stick of Auston Matthews, who had an open net for his third goal of the playoffs to tie the score at 1.

But otherwise Holtby was spectacular, collecting 24 saves and shutting down the high-powered Leafs' power play on four separate occasions, bouncing back from several subpar efforts.

"One thing I thought I could control more was body language and showing a little calmness throughout my game," Holtby said. "That was my mindset coming into the start of the game. I wanted to work hard to make (saves) look easy."

Toronto has played four overtimes in a series twice before, per the NHL, in 1933 and 1951, and Washington did it in 2012. But now that the Capitals have Williams on their side, they always feel like they've got a shot, even when the pressure is on.

"Mr. Game 7 -- that's all it takes," said Ovechkin, referring to Williams' nickname. "One shot, and we get the lead."

Washington may be on the verge of sealing a tougher-than-expected series win, but the Leafs remain confident that their wild playoff ride will continue.

"It's a good series," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "It's a lot of fun. I keep saying this to you and I don't know if you quite believe it, but you can't have any more fun than this. We've been to overtime four times, it's a good competitive series and we believe we still have a chance to win. That's what we're going to do."

NOTES: Washington recalled C Chandler Stephenson from AHL Hershey. Capitals coach Barry Trotz said the move was for depth. Stephenson was a healthy scratch along with D Taylor Chorney and C Paul Carey. D Karl Alzner missed his third straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Toronto scratched RW Ben Smith, LW Josh Leivo and D Alexey Marchenko. ... Game 6 is Sunday in Toronto.