Stanley Cup Playoffs 2017: Puck Daddy Predicts Washington Capitals Toronto Maple Leafs Series

See how Puck Daddy thinks the Washington Capitals will do in their first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

The Washington Capitals enter the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference. In fact, the only team with better odds of lifting Lord Stanley is the Chicago Blackhawks. However, first they must get through the first three rounds of the postseason. In the first round, the Caps will be facing the upstart Toronto Maple Leafs. Here’s how Puck Daddy’s experts think they will do.

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The consensus seems to be the Caps winning their first round series in five games. Editor Jen Neale is the only one to disagree, and she lists them in six games. All of these people predicting the Caps will win must seem scary. But to be honest, no one can blame them for picking Washington.

On paper, the Capitals have everything a Stanley Cup contender has. They have an excellent offense capable of scoring goals. More importantly, the Caps have four forward lines capable of scoring. This is something which wasn’t true last season and it showed in their second round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Washington is also very good at suppressing shot attempts against. While they have an elite goaltender in Braden Holtby, they don’t consistently rely on him. Teams who win the Stanley Cup generally don’t rely heavily on their goalies. The 2010-11 Boston Bruins are one of the few exceptions to this rule in the modern NHL.

Must Read: ESPN Experts Predict Caps vs. Leafs

While the Washington Capitals and being playoff favorites generally don’t mix, it feels different this time around. The Caps aren’t going to fly through the postseason because that’s generally not how it works. But they should be able to win the Stanley Cup.