Ex-NHL HC Bruce Boudreau names $2.15 billion franchise as Stanley Cup favorite

Former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau believes the Washington Capitals are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. On the 1st Up podcast, Boudreau praised their consistency, depth and strong team play. He noted that Washington, which is valued at $2.15 billion (per Forbes), plays the same way every night and rarely has bad games.

"They have four lines that can play. They have six defenses that can play," Boudreau said. "They have two goalies that are really good, that don't give up bad goals. They just continually come at you. You know, if we all watched the Four Nations and the cats play like that. They're in your face all night long."

He also compared his former team's aggressive playing style to the teams in the Four Nations tournament and pointed out improvements in players like Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael.

"They're big, they're strong. They got a lot of no names. For example, Protas got three goals last year. Now he's got 26 or something like this. McMichael's got 20 goals. Dylan Strong's averaging a point a game. Even their fourth line, they got two guys on the fourth line with 10 plus goals. I mean, they come at you every way, and they're big and they are physical," Boudreau added.

The Capitals lead the Metropolitan Division with a 38-11-8 record. They score 3.70 goals per game, ranking third in the NHL. Their defense allows only 2.51 goals per game. Alex Ovechkin leads with 29 goals, while Dylan Strome has 40 assists.

Capitals defeat the Oilers 7-3

The Washington Capitals beat the Edmonton Oilers 7-3 for their second big win after the Four Nations break. They previously defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 8-3.

Leon Draisaitl scored first for Edmonton on a power play. Tom Wilson tied it with a rebound goal. Jakob Chychrun put Washington ahead with a power-play goal. Alex Ovechkin scored twice to make it 4-1 before Connor McMichael added another.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Dylan Strome traded goals before Jeff Skinner made it 6-3. Ovechkin completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal, reaching 882 NHL career goals.