The Washington Capitals sent two of their best players to the Sochi Winter Olympics; neither came back with great stories to tell.
As the Winter Olympics were in Russia hometown hockey player Alex Ovechkin was the face of this years games. Expectations for the Russian team were high going into the games so the fact that the team couldn't medal was a huge disappointment.
Ovechkin's Washington Capital teammate Nicklas Backstrom may have had a worst experience. His Sweden team faced Canada in the gold medal game and finished earning the silver but Backstorm came home empty handed. He didn't even play in the contest due to a violation in the Olympics doping policy. Backstrom violated anti-doping rules after tests showed an elevated level of pseudo-ephedrine, a banned substance by the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Federation.
Backstorm claims that there was pseudo-ephedrin in his system due to the allergy medicine he has taken for several years. The NHL currently doesn't ban the substance so Backstorm received no punishment when he returned to the Capitals.
Olympic officials are still reviewing his violation and if it's upheld he won't receive his silver medal.
As the Winter Olympics were in Russia hometown hockey player Alex Ovechkin was the face of this years games. Expectations for the Russian team were high going into the games so the fact that the team couldn't medal was a huge disappointment.
Ovechkin's Washington Capital teammate Nicklas Backstrom may have had a worst experience. His Sweden team faced Canada in the gold medal game and finished earning the silver but Backstorm came home empty handed. He didn't even play in the contest due to a violation in the Olympics doping policy. Backstrom violated anti-doping rules after tests showed an elevated level of pseudo-ephedrine, a banned substance by the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Federation.
Backstorm claims that there was pseudo-ephedrin in his system due to the allergy medicine he has taken for several years. The NHL currently doesn't ban the substance so Backstorm received no punishment when he returned to the Capitals.
Olympic officials are still reviewing his violation and if it's upheld he won't receive his silver medal.