NHL Playoffs: Washington Capitals vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction.

NHL Playoffs Start on Wednesday, A Few Teams Surprised Us All and Made it in the Big Show. But Who Will Finish as the Stanley Cup Champion? Follow This Prediction Series to Find Out.

BREAKDOWN OF THE TEAMS SEASONS:
Washington had themselves a terrific year, finishing first in the NHL with 118 points and 55 regulation wins. While many thought Alex Ovechkin was once again going to win the Maurice Richard Trophy, he saw a significant decrease in offensive production. However, his defensive game has risen significantly. Toronto has been a surprise team all season, earning the respect and hope back from the Leafs faithful. Rookie, Auston Matthews has been a trailblazer all year smashing record after record, with his biggest being a toss up between four goals in his first game to scoring 40 as a rookie in today’s NHL. And now they meet up in the first round of the NHL Playoffs.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Washington finished the season fourth on the power play (23.1%) and seventh in penalty kill (83.8%). Their power play seen a significant increase once they acquired Kevin Shattenkirk from St. Louis, Matt Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov have been solid on the power play don’t get me wrong, but Shattenkirk has the ability to quarterback the entire thing. And when you have guys like Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, Andre Burakovsky, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov to pass the puck to your power play is going to be solid. Their penalty kill is just as good, mostly consisting of players like Brooks Orpik, Jay Beagle, Tom Wilson, Justin Williams, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, and Nate Schmidt. You’re once again poised to have a solid PK that will keep the puck out of your net.

Toronto finished second in the league on the power play (23.8%) and tenth in penalty killing (82.5%). For the majority of the season, their power play units have consisted of Connor Brown, Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, William Nylander, Auston Matthews, Zach Hyman, James van Riemsdyk, Mitch Marner, Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly, and Connor Carrick. Which is why the team had so much success running with four forwards and one d-man. When it came to their penalty kill though it was often split with Leo Komarov, Matt Martin, Tyler Bozak, Brian Boyle, Nikita Zaitsev, Jake Gardiner, Matt Hunwick, and Roman Polak. All solid defensive type players who can keep the puck from going in the net. Washington has a clear edge in all areas of special teams with let’s say a rating of 10, Toronto wouldn’t be too far behind on the power play with a rating of 9.8. This series won’t come down to special teams but they will still be a factor, and with Washington’s experience and sheer talent in both categories, they have the edge.

EDGE: Washington

OFFENSE:

While Toronto possesses three lines that can score goals, van Riemsdyk, Bozak, Marner, Komarov, Kadri, Nylander, Hyman, Matthews, and Brown. Washington has four lines that can score goals, Ovechkin, Backstrom, Oshie, Johansson, Williams, Kuznetsov, Connolly, Eller, Burakovsky, Winnik, Beagle, and Wilson. Washington has the clear edge when it comes to scoring goals, the Leafs fourth line is more of a grinding hitting line but if they could score like Washington’s fourth, the verdict would be a tie. But for now, the edge goes to Washington in terms of offense.

EDGE: Washington

DEFENSE:

If you think Washington’s forward core is top notch look at their backend, Orlov, Niskanen, Orpik, Shattenkirk, Alzner, Schmidt, and Carlson. All of these guys have past playoff experience and will be tough to get past. Toronto’s defensive core, while not experienced is still okay. With Rielly, Carrick, Gardiner, Zaitsev, Polak, Hunwick, and Marchenko the core is rather inexperienced with the only two ever playing in the playoffs being Polak and Gardiner. So the verdict and edge have to go to Washington yet again.

EDGE: Washington

GOALTENDING:

The Leafs went out and addressed a huge need when they acquired bonafide starter Frederik Andersen from Anaheim in the off-season. However, waiver pickup Curtis McElhinney doesn’t have the consistency to withhold a playoff run and with the injury to Andersen that all Leafs fans hope isn’t going to keep him out long, Garret Sparks will be filling in until he returns.

Now Washington has arguably the best goalie in the world with Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer is just as solid but doesn’t have much playoff experience. So if goaltending falls on top the backups, this series will come down to special teams. But that’s unlikely since Holtby is capable of playing every game. So yet again the Capitals get another edge in this series and that’s goaltending. Becuase it’s rather simple, Holtby > Andersen, Grubauer > McElhinney.

EDGE: Washington.

Next: NHL Entry Draft: Second Round Mock Draft Number Two.

SERIES OUTCOME:

The Leafs will be hard-pressed to win a game against the Caps, however, they do have a habit of being able to beat the tough teams while losing to the easier teams. The Caps could sweep this series against Toronto but I have a feeling the Leafs can pull out at least one win.

FINAL SERIES RECORD: Washington wins 4 games to 1.