Posted on Wed, Apr. 23, 2008
WASHINGTON - It wasn't supposed to end like this for the Capitals.
They won their final seven games of the regular season to get into the playoffs. They made the mountainous climb from a 3-1 series deficit to force last night's Game 7.
Their star player found his scoring touch and their home rink, the Verizon Center, was as loud as any arena legally has a right to be.
But the Capitals' season ended in a 3-2 loss last night when the Flyers' Joffrey Lupul scored at 6 minutes, 6 seconds of overtime of Game 7.
The locker room afterward was predictably silent, and coach Bruce Boudreau was loath to break the quiet.
"I just told them they gave me the greatest year of my life and I thanked them," said Boudreau, who replaced Glenn Hanlon in November and guided the Caps from last place to a division championship. "We'll talk [today]. They don't want to hear too much, and I couldn't say too much at that point."
Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals' superstar winger and likely NHL MVP, scored on a laser wrist shot that tied the score with 4:31 left in the second period. The Capitals, especially on the heels of Monday's Ovechkin-led comeback from a two-goal deficit, looked as if they were ready to seize the game and win their first playoff series since the 1998 Eastern Conference finals. Ovechkin was 12 when the Caps beat the Sabres then.
"We have a good team and I think we will improve," said Ovechkin, who led the league with 65 goals and 112 points. "It's tough to lose this series, and I wish that it wasn't over. It was a good season, and we move forward. It's hard, but it's a good experience for us." *
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