from Alex Prewitt of The Washington Post,

The white banner hung outside the team entrance to their facility read, “THANKS FOR A GREAT SEASON,” and deep down the Washington Capitals believed it had been as much. They gathered in Arlington one last time Friday afternoon before scattering for vacation, another second-round elimination behind them, the hurt of another early summer still fresh. They conducted physicals, held exit interviews, revealed injuries and, for some pending free agents, said goodbye.

It was the standard closing act, performed every year, speaking with freshly shaved beards before the curtain dropped for good on their 2014-15 season. Had the New York Rangers not bounced them in seven games, had they not squandered a 3-1 series lead for the fifth time in franchise history, they would have packed for a flight to Tampa Bay, bound for the Eastern Conference finals, the first many of them would have experienced. Instead, they cleaned out their lockers.

“We’re still sitting here today, so it doesn’t feel any differently,” forward Jason Chimera said. “It still feels pretty bad. It still feels like you lost someone in your family, for sure. It’s not a good feeling to be out here, but I’d be lying [if I didn’t say], as you get further down, you really start to believe.”

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