from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

Finding a way to exploit one edge, however minuscule, is usually the difference between winning and losing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Barry Trotz is well aware. His Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins are so familiar with each other that their tendencies have been broken down ad nauseam on video.

They are more than just division foes. Both teams have players who used to be behind enemy lines. Eric Fehr spent nine seasons in Washington;Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik combined for nearly 1,000 games in a Penguins uniform.

And Trotz has a secret weapon on the bench: assistant coach Todd Reirden commandeered Pittsburgh’s defence for four years.

“There are probably not a lot of secrets,” Trotz said Wednesday. “There are some real defining tendencies that if you can exploit, it can give you an advantage. It might only give you an advantage for one game until they correct whatever you might have exploited, but it's about getting four [wins]. If you can get one, somehow by identifying tendencies or areas that you can exploit, that gives you a one up and then you look to the next thing.”

But who has the edge to start?

Here is the series view from one Eastern Conference pro scout who has seen both Pittsburgh and Washington many times this season:

continued