from Dan Steinberg of DC Sports Bog at the Washington Post,

Now remember all the ways this team had distinguished itself in the regular season. Instead of question marks in goal, Washington had a Vezina Trophy frontrunner. Instead of uninspiring fill-ins centering the second line, Washington had a brilliant all-star. Instead of kids, there were veteran leaders everywhere. And instead of defensive holes, Washington’s blue line was deep and sturdy.

All those pillars trembled in the playoffs. Holtby tied the NHL’s mark for regular season wins, but Penguins kid goalie Matt Murray matched him in this series. Evgeny Kuznetsov became the first player other than Nicklas Backstrom or Alex Ovechkin to lead Washington in scoring in more than a decade; he had only two points in 12 postseason games. The veteran leaders sometimes stumbled; Williams led Washington in postseason penalty minutes, while Brooks Orpik got himself suspended for three games. As for the blue line, with Orpik out, the depth included Nate Schmidt and Mike Weber, who were each victimized on crucial goals.

And so what will be remembered was no Tuesday’s frantic comeback, but the result. Look, this isn’t a historical failure, and it won’t be as haunting as that 2010 loss to Montreal. The Penguins have 22 wins in their past 27 games, and will be favored to reach the Stanley Cup finals. But this was Washington’s best and most balanced regular season team, certainly of the Ovechkin era and maybe in franchise history. It was a team built for the postseason, with a blend of scoring, defense, leadership and depth. It had, as Jason Chimera said Tuesday, “that special feeling all year.”

It was special because it felt different. Thanks largely to a few inexplicable blips — those stretches of alarmingly poor play — the ending is the same. Now the Caps have 11 months to try to do something different yet again.

more