The Washington Capitals made their third straight second-round exit on Wednesday night with a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Capitals, who won the Presidents' Trophy for the second straight season, battled back from a 3-1 deficit to send the Penguins to Game 7 but once again failed to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Veteran defenceman Karl Alzner, one of five pending unrestricted free agents to dress on Wednesday, was at a loss trying to figure out the team's fatal flaw.

“It’s just extreme disappointment,” Alzner told the Washington Post. “We honestly thought we were the best team in the playoffs, and we showed it in (flashes). But the second-round (exit) again...

“Maybe there’s something deep down that guys feel. Every year, we change (players) and say it’s a ‘new team.’ But maybe there is something deep down... but I don’t feel it personally.”

The Capitals loaded up for this playoff run. They traded a first-round pick to acquire Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Louis Blues in February and sent two second-round picks to the Montreal Canadiens for Lars Eller last June.

The end result? Another second round exit and a 2017 draft class whose first selection will come at bottom of the fourth round. 

“You wonder how much disappointment you have to put yourself through before you can find a way to get the job done,” said T.J. Oshie, who was acquired from the St. Louis Blues in 2015.

Oshie (22:38 time on ice in Game 7), Justin Williams (19:51) , Daniel Winnik (8:41), Alzner (8:42) and Shattenkirk (18:18) are all slated to hit the open market in July. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly, Dmitry Orlov, Nate Schmidt and goaltender Philipp Grubauer are all restricted free agents.