THE MATCHUP
Washington Capitals: 55-19-8, 1st in Metropolitan
Toronto Maple Leafs: 40-27-15, 4th in Atlantic
Toronto: Viewed from the outside, everything that happens now for the Leafs must be gravy after a 26-point jump in the standings, with kids setting scoring records and the win-starved fan base enjoying playoffs after a threeyear drought. But Stanley Cup and Olympic champion coach Mike Babcock has a different definition of success and, now that his “hungry” team has tasted some, they’ve a firm belief they can take down the heavy teams in the league. What the Leafs lack in playoff experience they make up for in enthusiasm and with competent goaltending from Frederik Andersen, they could score their way out of trouble.
Washington: Clubs that win the Presidents’ Trophy are sometimes ripe for the picking, having spent much of their energy trying to finish first for prestige and home-ice advantage through the playoffs. But fear these Capitals and their captain, Alex Ovechkin, both on a mission to play in June after so many letdowns. No need for this team to adapt to shutdown hockey, they’ve been deeply immersed in an 82-game dress rehearsal. Adding Kevin Shattenkirk at the trade deadline emphasized their urgency to win it all while the window is still open.
Season’s series: Capitals won 2-1, with one win in OT
All- time playoff series: First meeting
Who wins? Don’t expect the Caps to be lulled into thinking the Leafs are just happy to be here. They’ve under-estimated teams before and that’s why they’ve not been to a final since 1998 despite the Ovie era. Babcock has a good handle on what works at this time of year and will give old pal Barry Trotz a good run. Capitals in six
Toronto’s key player: Frederik Andersen. Great goaltending was the not-so-secret weapon for the Leafs this season. If healthy, he keeps Toronto in every game.
Washington’s key player: F Alex Ovechkin. Even when not unleashing that lethal shot, team captain Ovechkin is dangerous because he hits like a ton of bricks.
Capitals lineup
Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T. J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams
Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Brett Connolly
Daniel Winnik, Jay Beagle, Tom Wilson
Defence pairings
Karl Alzner, John Carlson Dmitry Orlov, Matt Niskanen Brooks Orpik, Kevin Shattenkirk
Goalies
Braden Holtby Philipp Grubauer
Leafs lineup
Leo Komarov, Nazem Kadri, Connor Brown
James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews, William Nylander
Matt Martin, Brian Boyle, Kasperi Kapanen
Defence pairings
Morgan Rielly, Connor Carrick Jake Gardiner, Nikita Zaitsev Matt Hunwick, Roman Polak
Goalies
Frederik Andersen Curtis McElhinney