The quest to win the 2018-19 Stanley Cup begins Wednesday.

While the Tampa Bay Lightning are the favorites after leading the league with 128 points and tying a record with 62 wins, the NHL playoffs are sure to bring excitement and surprises.

Do the Washington Capitals have what it takes to repeat? Could the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs or Winnipeg Jets bring back a Cup to Canada? What about the Vegas Golden Knights? They finished third in the Pacific Division but nobody would be surprised if they reached the Stanley Cup for the second season in a row — and won.

USA TODAY Sports' NHL staff makes its Stanley Cup picks and selects its Conn Smythe winners.

FIRST-ROUND PREDICTIONS:How we see first round playing out

STANLEY CUP RANKINGS: Here are the leaders inrace for Cup

Kevin Allen: Why the Lightning will win the Cup: The team's incredible talent supply is only half of the story. This is a team that has learned how to win by losing some big games. In the last four years, the Lightning have lost two Game 7s in the conference final and lost in the Stanley Cup Final. They understand what it takes to go the distance.

Jimmy Hascup: Why the Lightning will win the Cup: It's hard to find a hole on a team that won 62 of 82 games. The defense might be a slight worry if Victor Hedman can't play right away, but all that means is coach Jon Cooper will lean more heavily on Ryan McDonagh in big moments. Plus, this team is so deep offensively it can overwhelm opponents on the scoresheet.

Mike Brehm: Why the Lightning will win the Cup: Too much firepower. Three 40-goal scorers, the top power play, the top penalty kill. The only issue is they give up a lot of shots, but goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy takes care of that with saves that are spectacular at times. If he hadn't missed 15 games with injury, the Lightning would have been a top-three defensive team. And they have the playoff experience to be able to take the final step.

Jace Evans: Why the Lightning will win the Cup: After reaching the conference final in three of the past four years (and losing in the Cup Final in one of them), there are no more lessons to be learned for the Lightning. While the uncertain status of defenseman Victor Hedman is of some concern, this team is buoyed by the highest-scoring offense the NHL has seen in 23 years — headlined by cap era points record-setter Nikita Kucherov. Add in that this is a top-five defense backstopped by a Vezina Trophy candidate and it's easy to see why this squad was historically good.