“Obviously, it was great emotions for us, you know?” Ovechkin said. “I think everybody never had that feelings before, just a couple of guys. But for us as a young group, it was a great atmosphere and everybody was happy because we take a huge step forward as an organization and as players.”

Ovechkin can relate to the young Toronto Maple Leafs with that much. The list of similarities between the Capitals and their first-round postseason adversary is short — Toronto is the youthful upstart team and Washington is the veteran one familiar with this stage. But nine years ago, the Capitals were in the same position as these Maple Leafs, a young core making the playoffs for the first time.

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That era with the same kind of highflying offense as Toronto’s didn’t translate to postseason success for Washington. The Capitals have grown up and, in facing a reflection of their former selves, they have a blueprint for what they can exploit with their experience.

“Their forward group is impressive with the skill level and speed,” Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan said. “They’re a confident group, too. They don’t lack confidence. They freewheel a little bit, you know? Good specialty teams, and they give a little back on the defensive side. Yeah, it does remind me.”

“Obviously, they have talent,” Ovechkin said. “They have lots of young guys, lots of speed. I think it’s going to be a good series. We just have to play our way and don’t give them obviously freedom and be patient.”

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Toronto’s resurgence started the same way as Washington’s more than a decade ago. Several poor seasons produced high draft choices in a rebuilding effort. The Maple Leafs got forward William Nylander in the first round in 2014, then Mitch Marner in 2015 and with the No. 1 overall pick last summer, Toronto selected center Auston Matthews. All three were rookies this season, and Matthews has been the most electrifying of the trio with 40 goals and 29 assists, finishing second to Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby in the goal-scoring race.

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“They’re the young, up-and-coming team,” Capitals Coach Barry Trotz said.

It’s not so different from when Ovechkin, Washington’s first overall pick in 2004, scored 52 goals as a rookie and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, an honor Matthews is expected to receive this year. Green and Semin were earlier first-round draft choices, and in 2006, the Capitals drafted Backstrom with the fourth overall pick.

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“That’s kind of how everything started out here,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. “They kind of go through a bit of a rebuild or whatever you want to call it — a restructure. I don’t even know what they say these days. But you have to start somewhere, and it usually starts by putting some pucks in the net and then you find the defensive game after. They seem to have a pretty good mixture of both early on, so it’s impressive for sure. But we know how we lost games back then, before I was here. So it’d be nice to maybe think how that happened.”

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Like the Maple Leafs, those Capitals teams from 2007 to 2010 were exciting, but they weren’t as structured as they are now. Washington finished this regular season with a league-low 2.16 goals-against per game with 3.18 goals-for per game, ranked third in the league, while Toronto has a high-powered offense (3.05 goals per game) with a defense that’s less reliable (2.85 goals allowed per game).

Alzner said the Maple Leafs draw momentum from their young, skilled players “making nice, fancy plays and scoring goals.” But just eight players in Toronto’s expected lineup have played NHL postseason hockey before, so Alzner hopes the tight-checking style that doesn’t lend itself to as many of those dazzling offensive plays will make the Maple Leafs uncomfortable. That’s where the Capitals’ matured play may be an advantage.

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“What people always say is that they may get a little bit too wrapped up in the moment, and it’s going to be absolutely bonkers, I’m sure, in Toronto,” Alzner said. “Sometimes you’re going to have some outside influence. So that’s kind of what you hope for from them.