Capitals

Gustav Forsling was called for tripping Backstrom putting the Caps on the advantage. Evgeny Kuznetsov shot the puck. Anthony Mantha then made a nice play off ...

T.J. Oshie was on the other end of the goal to bang it in for his sixth of the playoffs to tie it with 1:03 left. The Caps had every opportunity to win Game 4 but Garnet Hathaway missed the empty net. They played “Unleash the Fury” on the video board and fans shouted it and waved their towels bearing that statement hoping to give the Caps a jolt. It was Backstrom’s second of the playoffs. It was those three things that did the Capitals in as they fell in the first round for the fourth year in a row but this time in six games with a 4-3 overtime loss. The Panthers led in shots 14-9 in the second period.

The Capitals took a few moments to collect themselves before staggering onto the ice in front of a silent Capital One Arena and amidst a host of deliriously ...

Now come here, up 2-1 — I think it was under 10 minutes maybe — and then all of a sudden we’re down one in the last couple minutes. Instead, another year has now gone by with a heartbreaking loss in the first round of the postseason. “Last three games, the game was in our hands, so that comes down to just finding a way to get the job done in the other games. “One bad bounce or one misread can change the whole momentum of a game. Then they lost to the New York Islanders in a quick five games in the NHL’s COVID-19 bubble in Toronto in the summer of 2020. Tom Wilson scored a goal in Game 1 and then missed the rest of the series injured. The last couple of years we’ve been down and teams have kind of had their way with us a little bit. They easily made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference this year finishing 16 points ahead of the Islanders. But as the lowest seed they also had a huge challenge. They lost in double overtime at home to the Carolina Hurricanes in a Game 7 in 2019. Oshie scored six goals in six games, including what was at the time a season-saving goal with 63 seconds left in Game 6. The night of Game 6, though, Oshie, Ovechkin, Carlson and Backstrom were 35, 36, 32 and 34 years old, respectively.

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images The Washington Capitals fell to the Florida Panthers, 4-3 (OT) Friday night at Capital One Arena in Washington.

The Capitals regained the lead with a deflected goal from Nick Backstrom (2) at 1:37 of the third period. But the Panthers would answer three minutes later with a goal from Ryan Lomberg (1) at 6:13 of the middle frame. The second period would end, tied 1-1. Backstrom’s 38 playoff goals rank second in franchise history. Garnet Hathaway (x) had the lone assist. The Capitals opened the scoring with a goal from Nic Dowd (1) at 3:44 of the second period.

The Washington Capitals were eliminated in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth year in a row, and now they have some quetions.

But it is not yet a cliff dive and it is clear this team can still be a playoff team, and a pretty good one. When healthy I still think he can be a really good player here and one that will ultimately be worth his cap number (and the price they paid to trade him). Eller is intriguing because his cap number is fair, he can still play his role pretty well, and the Capitals could use an extra $3 million to play with. There is also the fact Connor McMichael needs a bigger role and still only costs $863,000 against the cap for the next two seasons. Marc-Andre Fleury is also set to be available, but him playing in Washington does not seem to be in the cards. The Capitals have been near the top of the NHL for a decade-and-a-half and been one of the league’s elite teams. The Capitals did not get run out of the building by the Presidents’ Trophy winning Panthers, and it was certainly not the one-sided mismatch many expected it to be at the start. They may have been the eighth playoff team in the East, but they still finished with 100 points in a very tough division. They were one of just three teams to finish below 18th in all situations save percentage to actually make the playoffs (Los Angeles at 19th, Toronto at 22nd, and the Capitals at 23rd), while no playoff team was lower than them. There are a lot of flaws there, but the results were still pretty good. Or that a “prove it” contract will result in a different outcome? But it might be the quickest fix.

The Washington Capitals have once again been eliminated in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Was this season a total bust for the Caps?

However, as I noted above, simply putting up a fight is not acceptable in D.C. given all that this franchise has accomplished in the last decade and a half. It seemed like the perfect matchup for Florida’s lethal offense. However, it’s looking more and more like the team’s 2018 title will be its last with this group.

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin thinks it's pretty messed up that the Washington Capitals haven't won a playoff series since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2018.

We had opportunities to win and … against a team that proved to be the top team in the league, played them hard. With Ovechkin turning 37 in September, Oshie 35, Backstrom 34 and Carlson 32, it will take a serious infusion of young talent for the Capitals to win the Cup again during this era. “We had a lot of time where the series was in our hands, and I think that stings even more,” top defenseman John Carlson said. They blew a 3-0 lead at Florida in Game 5 to fall behind in the series. They allowed Florida to tie Game 4 in the final minutes and went on to lose in overtime. “The last couple of years we’ve been down, and teams have kind of had their way with us a little bit,” said winger T.J. Oshie, who had six goals and was Washington’s best player in the series.

John McCreary/NHLI via Getty Images The Washington Capitals' 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of their first round playoff series on ...

You deserve a longer run and parties in the streets… Time for the one of the worst but most appreciative tweets.#Capsfans me and the boys love you guys. The Washington Capitals’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of their first round playoff series on Friday night ended the team’s season earlier than hoped, despite a heroic comeback effort by TJ Oshie late in regulation.