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Capitals confront realities of second-round playoff exit with one final goodbye

Wearing a black ballcap, a black sweatshirt and dark jeans, it wouldn’t have been wrong to suggest that Matt Niskanen was dressed appropriately.

It had been 36 hours since the Washington Capitals’ loss, but Niskanen knew the sorry and disappointment would last much longer.

“This is the most hurt I’ve been in my career,” Niskanen said on Thursday morning, not even two days after the Capitals were knocked out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins. “You don’t know how often opportunities are going to come along where you have this kind of team.”

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The Capitals won a franchise-record 56 games in the regular season and finished with the best record in the NHL, giving them the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the postseason.