Rose from 8-win expansion team to win Presidents' Trophies, 2018 Stanley Cup title; rank among League's best this season

The Washington Capitals are set to face the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight at Capital One Arena, with all eyes on captain Alexander Ovechkin. It is expected that he will play, continuing his standout season with 14 goals and 17 assists in 33 games.

Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals and an assist, Filip Gustavsson made 25 saves, and Kirill Kaprizov became Minnesota's career leader in power-play goals in the Wild's 5-0 win over the Washington Capitals.

Only one team, the juggernaut Avalanche, is allowing fewer goals per game, and only two clubs, Colorado and Carolina, boast a better expected goals rate at 5-on-5. Washington is also third in shot attempt rate, meaning the Caps are dominating possession at even strength for the most part.

Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out.

Lifestyle Magazine Features More Than 200 Pages of Exclusive Content Highlighting Players and the Capitals Organization

Hurricanes rookie goalie Brandon Bussi made NHL history, helping Carolina defeat the Capitals 3-2 in a shootout thriller.