Alex Ovechkin felt compelled to apologize for his team’s performance in the Olympics. Nicklas Backstrom had to sit out the gold-medal game because of a doping violation. John Carlson’s Americans were embarrassed in the bronze-medal game.
Yeah, the Olympics definitely could have gone better for the Washington Capitals players who spent their break in Sochi, but there’s little time to harp on it. Washington has a playoff streak on the line and a trade deadline looming that could be one of the most crucial of GM George McPhee’s career.
On top of it all, the Capitals have one of the toughest schedules around.