ST. LOUIS -- The symmetry is hard to ignore.
On the one hand, you've got another second-round exit by the Washington Capitals. On the other, two of their former players are playing sizeable roles in getting two different franchises over historic playoff hiccups.
Oh, I don't think it's lost on Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer at all, even if they felt for some buddies on their former team.
"The Caps ran into a really good team in Pittsburgh," Brouwer said Monday at Scottrade Center. "There's no bad teams left. Talking to a couple of guys in the [Capitals] organization, they hadn't played too many meaningful games down the stretch and maybe that was something that hurt them.