For two years, Tim Thomas has been one of the best goalies in the world.

For two games, Braden Holtby has matched him save for save.

Making just his second NHL postseason appearance, Holtby stopped 43 shots Saturday to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins. One game after the Bruins opened the playoffs with a single-overtime victory, Nicklas Backstrom scored 2:56 into the second overtime to help the Capitals tie the defending Stanley Cup champions at one game apiece.

“There’s not a lot of chances out there,’’ Backstrom said. “This is how it’s going to be, I think. For you, maybe it’s boring; I don’t know. But for us, it’s fun.’’

Thomas made 37 saves for the Bruins, who earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference but now must win in Washington to advance to the second round. The Capitals will host Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Thursday before the series returns to Boston on April 21.

“I would say it’s going to be a long series,’’ Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin said. “For us, it was very important to win this game and get the series tied, and go back home and have home advantage to play against the Bruins. … We are pretty happy, but it was a long game and everybody is tired and needs some rest.’’

Troy Brouwer opened the scoring for the Capitals in the second period, and Benoit Pouliot tied it with 7:47 left in regulation.

Early in the second overtime, the Bruins won a faceoff in their own zone but Washington’s Marcus Johansson was the first to the puck behind the Boston net. He passed it to Backstrom at the left faceoff circle and he wristed it past Thomas on his stick side.

Thomas barely moved as the puck sailed by his blocker. As soon as it hit the back of the net, he quickly headed for the locker room while the Capitals congratulated each other in the same corner of the rink where Boston celebrated its Game 1 victory on Thursday.