It isn't meant to be. There's another level these other teams go to in the playoffs that the Caps never ascend to. They insist that they aren't haunted by failures of years past but they clearly are. Their tension is palpable when they go down early in a game, or when they blow a lead, or when they even fail to score on a power play.

This is who they are.

Since 2007 they've made the playoffs all but one year. Through all of those trips, they've failed to move past the second round. This is who they are, a fun to watch finesse team who racks up points in the regular season but who is intimated by the postseason.

It's over for this group. Probably been over.