Leafs eke way into the playoffs

TORONTO — The Maple Leafs have earned an invitation to the dance.

Whether goaltender Frederik Andersen will come along as a date with his teammates in the playoffs is not yet known.

The Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 Saturday at Air Canada Centre with Connor Brown ending an evening of intense drama at 17:12 of the third period.

Brown got the winner when he tipped a Jake Gardiner shot past Marc-Andre Fleury with Nazem Kadri screening the goalie. It was the 20th goal of the season for Brown.

Auston Matthews scored his 40th goal into an empty net with 3.4 seconds remaining.

The Leafs, who finish the regular season at home Sunday against Columbus, will play Washington or Ottawa in the first round.

Andersen was knocked out of the game early in the second period when Penguins forward Tom Sestito collided with him in front of the Leafs’ net.

Sestito was assessed a minor penalty for goaltender interference at 2:05.

A woozy Andersen was on the ice for several minutes and when he eventually got up to go to the Leafs dressing room, he did so slowly.

Backup Curtis McElhinney then entered the game.

The Andersen injury is a major concern for obvious reasons: Without him and what he has done in the regular season, the Leafs wouldn’t have been fighting for a playoff spot on the final weekend of the 2016-17 schedule.

When Andersen was with Anaheim last season, he suffered a concussion.

Two weeks ago in Buffalo, Andersen was forced to the leave a game against the Sabres with an upperbody injury.

Andersen missed one game and the Leafs won it with McElhinney in goal, beating Florida 3-2.

Kasperi Kapanen, on a pass from Matt Hunwick, sent the crowd of 19,561 into a frenzy when he scored at 14:30 of the third to tie the game 3-3.

It was Kapanen’s first NHL point in his 16th game.

Former Leaf Phil Kessel, booed whenever he touched the puck, scored on one of his patented snapshots, beating Andersen on the far side to open the scoring.