Washington Capitals' Playoff Failures Continue

The Washington Capitals have only had a handful of great playoff moments since their existence in the NHL starting in 1974-75.

There was 1988, when the Capitals' best moment up to that point was Dale Hunter's game-winner against Ron Hextall in overtime to beat Mike Keenan's Philadelphia Flyers in Game Seven.

There was 1990, and 1998, when the Caps made it to the Conference Finals, with the latter season resulting in their only trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in club history.

However, it should be mentioned that their 1998 run would not have been made possible to begin with, if not for a blown call in a pivotal game against the Boston Bruins in the first round when a Bruins' OT goal was disallowed.

Yes, but those three seasons saw the only good moments for the Capitals franchise.

Of course, the Capitals have never really had that many what you would call "superstars" on their roster in their thirty-plus seasons.

There were the occasional good players like Dino Ciccarelli, Mike Gartner, Dale Hunter, and Peter Bondra.

And even Jim Carey—albeit for only two seasons.

But virtually every spring has seen the Capitals choke. There are not many memorable Stanley Cup moments for this franchise.

And Tuesday night wasn't one of those moments—even with the great Alexander Ovechkin leading the way.

The Capitals lost 3-2 in overtime to the visiting Flyers in Game Seven, getting eliminated in the first round yet again.

Give the Caps credit though; they rallied from two-goal deficits to win Games One and Six, extending the series before ultimately falling. 

Still, yet another loss.

You could look back at their history and see how badly this franchise has performed in the proverbial big games.

And it was mostly the Flyers or the Pittsburgh Penguins doing most of the damage.

1989—Despite finishing first in the Patrick Division with 41 wins and 92 points, the Capitals were upset in the opening round by the Flyers, a .500 team, in just six games. In fact, the Caps lost the final three games of the series, allowing 17 goals in that span, despite jumping ahead two games to one.

1992—A year after losing to the Penguins in the second round, the Capitals looked to gain a measure of revenge over their Patrick Division rivals. Washington was the NHL's second-best team during the season, winning 45 and totalling 98 points.

Instead, after jumping out to a three games to one over Pittsburgh in the first round, the Caps collapsed, losing three straight, including Game Seven on home ice.

1995—Behind rookie goalie Carey, the Caps went up three games to one against Pittsburgh again in the first round. Washington had a chance to bury the Penguins in Game Five, taking several one-goal leads during the contest before ultimately losing in overtime.

Then the wheels fell off as the Pens outscored the Caps 10-1 in Games Six and Seven.

1996—Washington took a 2-0 series lead in the first round against Pittsburgh (again), but lost four straight, as Carey struggled and was often pulled in favor of backup Olaf Kolzig.

The back-breaker was the quadruple-OT defeat in Game Four, when Joe Juneau couldn't score the winner in the second overtime despite being awarded a penalty shot.

2000—The Caps won the Southeast Division with 102 points, but lost in the opening round against the Penguins, this time in just five games.

After getting embarrassed 7-0 in the first game, Washington suffered three one-goal losses the rest of the series, as Ron Tugnutt, the newcomer in the Penguins' goal, made the difference.

2001— Deja vu. Washington won the Southeast again, this time with 96 points. The Caps drew the Pens yet again in the first round, and Washington fell once more, as Pittsburgh rookie goalie Johan Hedberg was a major factor.

Oh yeah, the Caps were eliminated in overtime in Game Six.

In Ovechkin's playoff debut this year, the Capitals again failed to get the job done.

Sadly, the Washington franchise has indeed choked most times when April rolls around.