In 1996, the Capitals raced out to a 2-0 series lead on Pittsburgh, only to see their advantage evaporate on the way to a crushing six-game defeat — punctuated by Penguins forward Petr Nedved’s goal in quadruple overtime to win Game 4.

In 2000, the No. 2 seed Caps were brushed aside by the No. 7 Penguins in just five games. The very next year, Pittsburgh ripped out the Caps’ hearts again, when then-Washington defenseman Sergei Gonchar turned over the puck at his own blueline and Martin Straka buried the Game 6 overtime clincher that sent the Caps packing, 4-2.

But 2009 was supposed to be different.

This year’s Caps, who included no holdovers from the last time the two teams met in the playoffs, followed the script through most of the series. They attained — and promptly blew — a 2-0 series lead, suffered a devastating bounce to end overtime in Game 5 and lost a lead late in Game 6 before winning on David Steckel’s overtime goal. That sent the series back to the District squared at three, signaling this year could be different.

Game 7, predicted by many to be an instant classic, was anything but. No drama, no excitement, no bad breaks. Just domination. The Crosby-led Penguins lit into the Caps early and often, leaving them flatlining before they knew what hit them.

“You had more time to think about it,” said Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau. “It was definitely anti-climatic. It certainly wasn’t the way I would have envisioned it, scripted it. Whether we won or lost, I never would have thought that we would have ended up in a game like it was tonight.”

There are lessons to be learned about the playoffs for a young team growing towards maturity.

“One thing for sure,” Boudreau said, “is you’ve got to be ready every night. I mean, it’s the playoffs and you can’t afford it … if you put yourself in a position like this, eventually you are not going to win games.”