WASHINGTON — When the Penguins lost to the Capitals in the Eastern Conference semifinals, most fans and observers wanted to assign blame to something.
Matt Murray wasn’t good enough. There was a dearth secondary scoring — the worst offenders being Derick Brassard and Phil Kessel potting one goal apiece. The defense was sloppy. Ditto for the Penguins’ puck management.
All are reasonable ways of explaining the Penguins’ six-game series loss, although ascribing the team’s second-round exit to any one of those things independently would not only be foolish but unfair.
Here’s another reason the Penguins lost, and it doesn’t get cited nearly enough: The Capitals are really, really good.