I went to Game 2 in the Pens series and was there for Toronto as well in Round 1.
I have thought for years under McPhee and now McClelland that the Washington front office has always been about the physical ability of the players they draft and trade for but not often enough about either the intangibles of 'competitiveness' or the 'mix' of players - how the team fits together and complements one another.
I don't think it's coincidental that the Caps best games in the playoffs were in Toronto and Pittsburgh on the road, away from the expectations of the fans and the 'ghosts' of playoffs past.
Again, this goes back to the competitiveness argument. When it came down to Game 7 at home to exorcise the playoff demons in a 1-0 game through the first 35-40 minutes, NO ONE stepped up on this team.
It wasn't just the lack of scoring, the physical play and corner work we saw in Games 5 and 6 wasn't there, which are usually the precursors to creating good scoring opportunities.
Where was the 'compete' level?
The two players I saw that continued to work hard and try to create something were Matt Niskanen and Justin Williams.
Williams' whole career has been about consistently putting out the effort and not letting the moment become to big for you. He came from winning organizations.
Niskanen came from Pittsburgh and while he didn't win a Cup there he certainly saw the other side of the rivalry.
That leaves 20 other players to answer for their play or lack thereof.
Johansson, Carlson, Backstrom, Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Holtby all have top end skills but on another team none of them, including Ovechkin, would be named the team captain.
They are good players but need others to lead them on the ice.
Williams at 35/36 and Niskanen, a defensemen, aren't enough.
It was very interesting to me that when the Capitals decided to go 'all in' in 2016 and 2017 they decided with trades for some top picks to acquire TJ Oshie and Kevin Shattenkirk from St. Louis.
Why? Because in recent years the St. Louis Blues with both of those players on the team were in many ways the Western Conference version of the Capitals.
Often with an excellent regular season record, the Blues just could never seem to get over the hump against clubs like the Blackhawks or Kings.
Oshie and Shattenkirk?
The big rap on Oshie was that he came up small in the big games, most specifically in the playoffs against Chicago.
Shattenkirk was a 'minus' player as a defenseman for the Blues in the playoffs and continued that trend in Washington during these playoffs.
Shattenkirk could skate and score goals on the power play but was suspect playing the puck in his own end and despite his size was not a physical presence.
If I were the GM of a team looking to exorcise some pretty weighty demons I don't know I would draw my apples out of the St. Louis barrel
Until Washington puts Leadership - 'willingness to sacrifice', 'compete level' near the top of the form when they are evaluating picks, trades and free agents they are going to continue to fall short of a Cup.
