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Marcio Sanchez
WASHINGTON – Although disappointed that he was unable to lead Russia to a medal in Olympic ice hockey, Alex Ovechkin says Canada deserved to take home the gold.
Ovechkin participated in the closing ceremonies on Sunday and returned to Washington in time to participate in practice with the Capitals on Monday. Although he's looking forward to the resumption of the NHL season, he will always treasure looking back at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
The two-time NHL MVP stuck around to the end, even though Russia was eliminated by Canada in the quarterfinals last Wednesday. Ovechkin caught only the final minutes of Canada's 3-2 win over the United States in Sunday's final.
"I watched only overtime (but) I think Canada deserved to win. They played better," Ovechkin said. "In overtime, Canada seemed more fresh, and (had) more opportunities to score goals."
Asked whether it bothered him that his rival with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby, scored the game-winner, Ovechkin said, "In that moment, it doesn't matter."
He still laments his team's performance in a 7-3 defeat to Canada.
"You know, I think every game against Canada, it's something special for everybody. Unfortunately, we lost, we lost pretty badly," Ovechkin said.
"I don't know what happened at that moment, but you know you can see how they move and how they play _ and we didn't play at all. It was a pretty bad situation for us, and for our country in that moment, but still, life goes on."
That won't take away from his memory of the games.
"It was an unbelievable atmosphere, a great time for me," Ovechkin said. "I really enjoyed it. Sometimes it was pretty hard to go out in the streets because there were so many fans around the village, but it was good memory for me. It's going to be for all my life."
Mark Chapman
This is a nice example of sportsmanship from Mr. Ovechkin. It's kind of him to say Canada deserved to win, although the Americans played very well, were a tough opponent and in the end it could easily have gone either way. Still, the team we feel the greatest trepidation about facing is the Red Machine.
The greatest surprise for me is the more relaxed, human side of Ovechkin, revealed here in his memories of the games. He always seemed a little cold and remote to me; maybe that's just his game face. Anyway, having Russia as a guest always means fierce competition, and it was a pleasure to see the Russians here. I thought the portion of the Closing Ceremonies dedicated to Sochi 2014 was extremely impressive, and it promises to be a world-class event. Good luck, Russia! I hope the Russian navy will also be able to participate in the International Naval Assembly in honour of Canada's 100th anniversary naval celebrations this summer.