Alex Ovechkin

It just wouldn't be the Stanley Cup playoffs without some intriguing storylines to make it more compelling, and this spring is no exception. The Nashville Predators look to win their first Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins seek their third straight title, and the surprising Vegas Golden Knights look to be the inaugural first-year expansion team to win it all. And what should we make of the perennially-contending Washington Capitals?

There was a time when the Detroit Red Wings were the NHL's dominant franchise, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were mostly also rans at best. Today, it's the Wings, at the Air Canada Centre to face the Leafs on Saturday, who will miss the playoffs for the second straight season, while the Leafs look to be serious Stanley Cup contenders for the first time in nearly two decades.

All good things come to an end, as do bad things, which the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils were happy to recently discover. Boston ended a six-game losing streak against the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the Devils got the better of the New York Islanders for the first time in five games. As these match ups arrive once more on the NHL schedule, will they revert to old form?

In a free fall out of playoff contention, the Chicago Blackhawks have lost eight games in a row, and things don't figure to get any easier for the Hawks with the Washington Capitals in town. The Caps have won three straight from the Blackhawks by a combined score of 15-4. They've also taken seven of their eight seven meetings from Chicago, and two of the last three at Chicago.

The Washington Capitals found life with a Game 5 victory on home ice over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Leading 3-2, the Pens need to close out this series with a Game 6 victory in their barn. They don't want to tempt fate with a Game 7 in Washington.

Is it deja vu all over again? Last spring, the Pittsburgh Penguins bounced the Washington Capitals in the second round of the playoffs. The Pens are one victory away from repeating the beating and bouncing the Presidents' Trophy winners.

The guy who broke the Washington Capitals' hearts in last spring's playoffs broke their hearts in Game 1. Nick Bonino scored the game winner, just as he scored the goal that eliminated the Capitals from the playoffs a year ago.

The NHL's Eastern Conference swings into second round playoff action, and you have to ask yourself this - are you sticking with defending champion Pittsburgh and Sidney Crosby, or is time for Alex Ovechkin and Washington to reign supreme?

It's the NHL's version of must-see TV - Sid versus Ovie. But as the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins battle the Cup favorite Washington Capitals, there's much more at stake than bragging rights between the two superstars.