‘At the end of the day, we lost to a better team’

PITTSBURGH _ The captain, who came through in the crunch through most of these playoffs, was willing to concede it just wasn’t meant to be for the Senators.

As Erik Karlsson stood in the dressing room after a crushing 3-2 double-OT defeat to the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the wee hours of Friday morning, he understood the challenge the Senators were up against.

“It’s tough. Losing is never easy and it’s not something you get over easily,” Karlsson said. “We played outstanding hockey all year and all through the playoffs but, at the end of the day, we lost to a better team.

“We did everything in power and it could have gone either way, but they did it for a little bit longer than we did and a little bit better. That’s the way it’s going to be sometimes.”

The Senators were educated by the Penguins in what it takes to win and how difficult it is to beat the heart of a champion.

“We played the best team in the league and we gave them a good match,” Karlsson said. “As of right now we’re very disappointed in the loss and getting so close but still being so far away. It’s going to be an experience for us and it’s going to be something we’re going to have to learn from.

“We’re going to have this summer to reflect on things and we’re going to come in next year and know about what it takes to get to where we want to go. We’re going to have to keep improving as individuals and as players. Everybody in here had a lot of fun on this run that we were on. It’s unfortunate it ended the way it did and we’ve to deal with it the best possible way we can.

“That’s by recharging and coming back next year to be even a little bit more motivated to do a bit better, a bit more and find ways to go even further.”

All that being said, Karlsson enjoyed the ride while it lasted.

“It’s been great,” Karlsson said. “Being where we are today is not something anybody — except us — thought was possible. It just shows that we have the character, skill effort to get to where we want go eventually. We just need a little bit more and now we know what it takes.”