WASHINGTON -- Forget that it is the two-time Presidents' Trophy winners vs. the No. 8 team in the Eastern Conference, the first-round series between the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs is very intriguing.

Can the Capitals -- in the year of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Cubs and Sergio Garcia -- begin a run that will erase years of playoff disappointments? Or will the upstart Maple Leafs, fueled by a speedy, talented group of rookies, pull off the upset?

Washington (55-19-8) hosts Toronto (40-27-15) Thursday night in Game One between teams that have never met in the playoffs.

"You're going to find two very good teams. They're going to tighten up the straps and away we go," Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said.

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Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Komarov-Kadri-Brown 
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner 
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander 
Martin-Boyle-Kapanen

Hunwick-Rielly 
Gardiner-Polak 
Marincin-Carrick

Andersen (starts)

In the past decade, Washington has won seven division titles but hasn't advanced beyond the conference semifinals. This year, they enter the playoffs on an 11-2-1 run and having fashioned a 32-7-2 record at home.

"They have some expectations on them," former Capital and current Leaf Connor Carrick told the team's website. "And I don't think it's something that's intimidating to anybody, it's more of a fact -- they have a lot on their plate, finishing where they have. It's our job to make those demons as difficult to deal with as possible."

Washington goaltender Braden Holtby, the defending Vezina Trophy winner, fashioned a career-best 2.07 goals-against average, led the NHL with nine shutouts and tied for the league-lead with 42 wins.

On offense, though Alex Ovechkin slipped from 50 goals to 33, the Capitals thrived thanks to their depth. T.J. Oshie (33) and Marcus Johansson (24) set career highs for goals, and three other Capitals scored 19 or more.

The Maple Leafs rose from 30th in the NHL overall in points a year ago to a playoff spot behind a trio of young scorers, including Auston Matthews (40 goals), William Nylander (22) and Mitch Marner (19), the Leafs top picks in the last three drafts. All three topped the 60-point plateau, as did James Van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri.

"All the old cliches, time and space, be hard on them," Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said of stopping Toronto. "I think the big thing with them is don't give them any freebies. I think if we can limit our turnovers, keep the puck heading north, that benefits us."

It remains to be seen how Toronto's young guns will handle the Capitals' experience and the tight-checking prevalent in the playoffs.

"People have been saying, 'You can't dip your toe in the water, you have to hit the ground running,'" Matthews told the Toronto Sun. "We can't be afraid to step in and play the right way and have fun."

Toronto goaltender Frederik Andersen returned to practice Tuesday following a collision over the weekend and was confident he'd play the opener. He finished the regular season 33-16-14 with a 2.67 GAA.

However, the Leafs will be without top-pair defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. He suffered an upper-body injury in Sunday's regular-season finale. Leafs head coach Mike Babcock is hopeful he will return for Game 2.

"I don't know 100 percent for sure," Babcock said Wednesday. "I thought he was going to skate today, (but) he didn't skate today, so obviously, he wasn't ready to go."

The Capitals won the season series 2-1, including an overtime win. Marner had two goals and three assists vs. Washington, while Van Riemsdyk added a goal and three assists. Andersen was 1-0-1 with a 4.00 GAA.

Justin Williams and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had a goal and three assists versus Toronto. Holtby, pulled in Washington's 6-5 home win in January, posted a 5.39 GAA in two games.

Ovechkin has 33 goals and 27 assists in 42 games versus Toronto. This is his ninth career playoff appearance and he registered 82 points (41 goals, 41 assists) in 84 games.

"Obviously, playoff experience is on their side for sure," Babcock said. "I like the youthful enthusiasm we have, I like how quick we can play."

It may be early to say the 31-year-old Ovechkin's Stanley Cup window is closing, but changes are coming. Among Washington's unrestricted free agents this offseason are Oshie, Williams and Kevin Shattenkirk.

Is it Washington turn for intervention from the sports gods?

"I'm not the type of guy that reads into that stuff too much," Holtby said. "I see a goal at the end, I see what we've done to get where we are now and I see what we need to do to accomplish that."