The Washington Capitals made everyone care. Everyone believe. And everyone broken hearted.
Is there anything more agonizing than an overtime Game 7 loss? Where one moment Verizon Center is a madhouse and the next empty aside idiots throwing beer bottles on the ice?
Don’t cry over Philadelphia’s second goal in the 3-2 win on Tuesday to eliminate Washington in the first-round series. Maybe it was a bad call, but the game was lost in the third period when the Caps couldn’t convert 16 shots. Just one would have sent Washington to Pittsburgh for the second round. Instead, the Caps squandered too many chances.
It was a sad end to a surprisingly great year. From worst on Thanksgiving to division champions in April. A team with a silent fan base suddenly became the town’s sweethearts with scalpers asking $200 for the final game. Caps games are the best local fan experience. Who knows how supporters went to work the next day, much less made it home after three hours of screaming. The only comparative fans might be D.C. United’s “Barra Brava” midfield black-clad crowd, but that’s only a few thousand. Certainly, Rock the Red won’t be forgotten over the summer as quickly as the Wizards threaten to flame out in their first round versus Cleveland continuing tonight at Verizon.
“They gave me the greatest year of my life,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “I don’t think the disappointment will go away for a long time. I felt we had a chance to win the Stanley Cup.”
Well, the title might have been a long shot, but Washington deserved to beat Philadelphia. Two overtime losses were a killer, especially in the final game when the younger Caps seemed to gas out the Flyers in the third with a 16-5 shot advantage. But, playoff experience was the difference. The Flyers jumped Washington 3-1 before the Caps, with 14 postseason newcomers, grasped the second season’s intensity.
“I hope the guys, when they’re in the playoffs next year, that they go [hard] right in the beginning,” Boudreau said. “I thought it wasn’t until Game 4 that we started to understand what it was. It was too late.”
The offseason key is re-signing free agents Cristobal Huet and Sergei Fedorov. Goalie Olie Kolzig reportedly took his name plate off the locker following the final game. Kinda says a lot, though so did Wizard Brendan Haywood last year and he returned to Washington. Huet is the future and nothing beats a great netminder. Fedorov’s chemistry offsets his age. You can’t beat a good locker room guy.
“I hope everybody stays here because we have great chemistry,” said Alex Ovechkin.
The Caps gets an A-plus in chemistry. Maybe next season they’ll earn passing marks in the playoffs, too.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
