"Nothing matters now," said Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall.

The eyes of this man who is so hated by Capital Centre audiences were red around the edges. His voice came out soft, nothing more than a whisper. Moments earlier, he had been slumped over, holding a blue towel to his eyes as teammates came by to console him.

"All that matters is they got the last goal," Hextall said after Washington's 5-4 overtime win last night. "Unfortunately. We battled for seven games and I wanted to beat them in overtime. I wanted to stop every shot. I'm disappointed. I didn't play well and that's probably the biggest reason we lost. If I had played well, we might have won the series."

After making several nearly impossible saves in the first few minutes of overtime, Hextall gave up a breakaway goal to Capitals center Dale Hunter with 5:57 gone in the extra period.

The shot ruined what had been an encouraging evening for the beleaguered, slumping goalie. After a horrendous 11-minute stretch in the second period, in which he allowed three goals, Hextall grew stronger and more confident. By overtime, Hextall was playing as well as he had played in this seven-game series.

"He gave us the opportunity to win it," said Flyers captain Dave Poulin. "In overtime, the Capitals should have scored three, maybe four times before they did. He gave us a chance. I don't think the finger will ever be pointed at Ron."

Poulin might not be pointing a finger at Hextall, but Hextall is.

"I didn't have a good series and I think everybody knows that," Hextall said. "I'll take my share of the blame. But I felt good the whole game. I was confident the whole game. I put everything out of my mind and went out and played one game.

"Unfortunately, I didn't make the last save."

The Flyers had more to worry about than that. They simply could not hold the lead last night, jumping ahead by a shocking 3-0 score three minutes into the second period and then failing to put the Capitals away.

"I think we felt in control, but we kept on working hard," said center Ron Sutter. "Three goals haven't proved to be much in this series. They made the best of their chances. We didn't make the best of ours."

"Give them credit," Poulin said of Washington's comeback. "We didn't sit back on our heels. We still played well."

The Flyers went into the locker room after regulation quite upbeat. "We were thinking we could end it early," Poulin said. "You have to think that way. You think you'll win it soon. We did that in Game 4. We thought we could do it again."

And then, when he had just stepped off the ice on a line change, Poulin heard the roar of the crowd, looked up and saw the Capitals mobbing Hunter.

"I was asked after the fourth game if I felt for the Capitals," Poulin said. "I don't have too much time to think about the other team. I'm too concerned about what we're doing. But certainly, this is a huge win for them, considering their past history."

Forward Rick Tocchet said he understood how the Capitals felt as they celebrated several hundred feet away.

"A few of the guys here have enjoyed a lot of success," he said. "There's always a chance you get greedy and want more. You've got to feel for them. Maybe this is their year."

Tocchet said the shock of losing in sudden death won't hit him for several days.

"I feel empty right now, but it will really hit me in three days when, wherever I am, I'm watching ESPN and see other teams playing," Tocchet said.

The Flyers certainly were disappointed they had blown a three games to one lead in this series, but their answers last night made them sound calm and relatively matter-of-fact.

"Washington probably deserved it," said Coach Mike Keenan. "They had the better chances."

Meanwhile, for the Flyers, it's either feast or famine. Three years ago, they reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing. Two years ago, they lost in the first round. Last year, they reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing. Now, they lose in the first round.

Told that Keenan called the season "disjointed," Poulin said, "I think disjointed is an excellent word for it. There were more peaks and valleys in this season than in any other. This last game kind of depicted the season. We go up, 3-0, they tie it, 3-3, they go ahead, 4-3, we tie it, 4-4. There was nothing gradual about it. These were huge swings."