Their equipment bags were packed for them. Game jerseys, team photos and other mementos were placed neatly at each of the Penguins' locker stalls.

It might have been an upbeat occasion except for the sting that still hovered around Mellon Arena.

"I'd rather be resting for Game 7," center and team captain Sidney Crosby said.

That would have been tonight in Detroit if the Stanley Cup finals had reached that winner-take-all point.

As it was, the Penguins dropped Game 6, 3-2, Wednesday, making the Red Wings champions for the 2007-08 season and setting up yesterday as the Penguins' traditional break-up day.

Mostly clean-shaven after weeks of playoff beard growth, they said goodbye to each other and met individually with management.

Some 40 hours, time that included a team dinner Thursday, was barely enough after the loss to try to put the season, the march to the final and the gut-wrenching loss to Detroit in perspective.

"We're all disappointed about losing," coach Michel Therrien said. "When you're two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup, even for me, it's still tough. But there's a lot of positives to be proud of."

Things such as overcoming several long-term injuries to surge to the Atlantic Division championship and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Or ripping through the first three rounds of the playoffs with a 12-2 record.

What was still raw was dropping consecutive shutouts in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, coming back to split two games at home, getting a last-minute goal from Max Talbot and triple-overtime winner from Petr Sykora in Game 5 at Joe Louis Arena, then dropping the deciding Game 6, 3-2, after a backhand shot by Crosby in the final seconds just missed.

"It's tough just because we were so close," Crosby said. "You go all that way. We were probably in pretty good position coming back home after that big win in Detroit. We thought we had momentum, and anything can happen in Game 7 if we could come here and win [Game 6]."

It was earlier, in those two shutouts, that the Penguins got in a deep hole. Therrien said that was a product of a young team up against the experienced Red Wings.

"It's kind of another season," Therrien said. "There's the playoffs, and there's the final. "All that week, we tried to loosen them up, but you have to go through that experience. In Game 3, we were the team that was capable of competing."

Just not to the point of coming back and capturing the Cup.

"It's tough to lose in the finals," defenseman Sergei Gonchar said. "You feel you are so close, and then you lose.

"At the same time, you have to stay positive because we accomplished a lot during the season. You look at us -- we're a young team and last year we lost in the first round. It's frustrating. But now we went to the finals. That's a huge step forward."

One that could be in jeopardy if the Penguins are torn apart by NHL free agency and the salary cap.

No one knew how many of their teammates were saying goodbye for the summer and which would not be back in September, although all the players seemed to agree about what they would like to see happen.

"Obviously, it's tough nowadays with all the economics of hockey, but if we can keep our core together, we're going to have a chance," Gonchar said.

Some of the players eligible to become unrestricted free agents expressed a desire to re-sign if general manager Ray Shero can make the numbers work.

"Hopefully, I can return and be part of this organization, but, with the salary cap, we know how hard it is, and there's lots of players to be signed, so we'll see what's going to happen," said Marian Hossa, who was acquired at the February trade deadline and became Crosby's right winger.

"In a perfect world, I'd like to get it done here today," added rugged defenseman Brooks Orpik, "but there's a lot of guys in a similar situation, and I don't think I'm the biggest domino to knock off right away."

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who could field offers as a restricted free agent, sounded the same notes.

"I want to be here, so, hopefully, we can get [a deal] done quickly," he said.

For now, wish lists about the future will be added to wish lists about what could have been.

"That was a huge year for us," Crosby said. "We gained a lot of experience pretty quickly.

"It came so close, but I think we all realize how tough that was and we don't want to feel that again, so, hopefully, we'll get another chance and it will have a different outcome."

NOTES -- The Penguins apparently came out of the postseason fairly healthy, with Therrien only listing winger Petr Sykora's "sore finger" along with various bumps and bruises, pending final player physicals.