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Barry Trotz: We've made progress, but not enough

The Washington Post / Getty

Another year, another second-round exit for the Washington Capitals, who dropped Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime Tuesday after winning the Presidents' Trophy.

Though it was a disappointing end to an incredible year, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz spoke about how far the team has come since he took over as bench boss in 2014, and how far it still has to go.

"You look at our resiliency, you look at the heart of our team, that's the progress," Trotz said after his team clawed back from a three-goal deficit to send the game to overtime, according to NHL.com.

"We've made some progress, but obviously not enough," he continued. "We need to get through this round. That's part of the deal. ... That will always be thrown at us until we get through that, so we need to do it."

Alex Ovechkin still awaits his first trip to the Eastern Conference finals after 11 seasons, but Trotz, who is also yet to reach the NHL's final four over his 17-year coaching career, doesn't believe his veterans should be blamed for the disappointing result.

"I don't think there's any blame to go to Alex or Backy or any of the guys that have been here for a while," the coach said.

Ovechkin finished the series with seven points in six games, while Nicklas Backstrom recorded four assists.

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