This picture of Tampa Bay Lightning defense man Mikhail Sergachev pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it Tampa Bay?

For the last half decade, our amazing Sunshine State hockey team has taught us to expect nothing less than magic, and on Wednesday night — after a grueling regular season and 19 hard-fought playoff games — that magic finally ran out as the Washington Capitals defeated the Lightning in game seven of the eastern conference finals.

The Caps and their captain — Alexander Ovechkin — advance to the Stanley Cup Finals where they will face the Las Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team which began the preseason a 500-to-1 chance of hoisting one of the most coveted trophies in all of sports. Credit Washington with scrapping out two wins to close us out, and give its goaltender Braden Holtby a big pat on the back for posting two back-to-back shutouts.

Give credit to yourselves, too Tampa Bay. Hockey fandom is not for the weary. The season is long, and the postseason feels even longer sometimes. Neither will feel as long as this offseason as we wait to see what our hockey Jesus — Lighthing GM Steve Yzerman — does to set the Lighthing up for another run next season.

We’re hurt today. Disappointed. Battered, beat up, and blue. Making a run at the Cup isn’t ever something to take for granted. But we’ll be back and so will our boys. So shave your beard and hang that hockey sweater up for the summer. We’ll see you in September with a new set of expectations and hopefully more magic, too.

The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett
The Tampa Bay Lightning faces off against the Washington Capitals at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 23, 2018. Credit: Nicole Abbett