3 Reasons The Capitals Lost In The First Round

Why the Caps got swept

New York Rangers v Washington Capitals - Game Three
New York Rangers v Washington Capitals - Game Three | Patrick Smith/GettyImages
1 of 4

It's unfortunately that time of the year. The Washington Capitals have been eliminated from the playoffs and now we all try to figure out, or just shout out our opinions on why the team is no longer playing. Only one team ends the season happy. All the other fanbases have to figure out what went wrong.

Overall, it was a decent season for the Capitals. Fans of the team can mostly be happy with the season. It was a team with next to zero expectations, and that team made the playoffs. It was a team that did not play well for large chunks of the season. It was a team that mostly sold at the trade deadline. None of this sounds good. And yet, again, they made the playoffs. How could you not be happy?

Veterans gave us great moments hitting some milestones. Other veterans showed how great they still are despite age getting higher and higher. Young guys came into the lineup and showed they belong in the NHL.

But as great as some things are, here we sit. The Capitals were swept in the first round by the rival New York Rangers. Now we get to point out some things that went wrong that led to that sweeping. So what went wrong?

Schedule