Ugh.

Me after the game.

Watching the game, the Caps played very well against a much more talented team. They cycled well, had good pressure, pretty good defense, and were very good against the best power play in the league.

But why did they end up losing? Let's look at the keys I wrote a couple of days ago.

1. Start Michal Neuvirth. Done and done. He played and was pretty good, making some robberies of Pittsburgh, and although he had a .892 save percentage, he faced 37 shots. Neuvirth could have been better, but he shouldn't have needed to be.

2. Forecheck like the San Jose game. They did pretty well in this area, as they were able to sustain pressure in the Pittsburgh zone multiple times. The Pens also forechecked up a storm, but again, this wasn't the reason the Caps lost.

3. Control possession. Yesterday was not the Caps team we know. The Caps had 54% possession, and had pretty good Fenwick stats. This should have been the downfall of the Caps yesterday, but it wasn't.

4. Come Out Strong. The Caps did well in this regard for the first 5/10 minutes, and overall they played strong. This wasn't the reason they lost either.

So why did the Caps lose? In the end, it comes down to the fact that the Penguins are built for the playoffs and the Stanley Cup, and the Caps are not. Unfortunately, until the Caps can build their team into one like the Penguins, they're not going to win these games.