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Steven Stamkos: Game 7 loss 'disappointing, gut-wrenching'

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said the feeling usually sinks in the day after a team is eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. "That feeling when you wake up and you think you are just going to keep playing," he said, "and now it's over." The Lightning saw a 3-2 series lead slip away to the Washington Capitals, who won the Eastern Conference championship with a 4-0 win in Game 7 on Wednesday night, earning the right to face the expansion Vegas Golden Knights for the Stanley Cup. "It's just a very disappointing, gut-wrenching feeling knowing how special this group was and not ending the way we wanted it to," Stamkos said.