The 2014 Winter Olympics ended in failure for the Russian men’s hockey team, which was bounced from the tournament before the medal round Wednesday by Finland.
The Russians’ elite goal scorers were neutralized by Finnish netminder Tuukka Rask (37 saves) in the 3-1 loss, with Ilya Kovalchuk’s first-period goal the extent of the scoring for the host nation.
Alex Ovechkin — the face of Russian hockey in the United States — was largely invisible throughout the tournament, and his assessment of Wednesday’s crushing loss was simple.
“It sucks,” Ovechkin said, via NHL.com’s Corey Masisak. “What else can I say?”
Ovechkin scored 1:17 into Russia’s first game but then was held without a goal for the remainder of the tournament. Russian coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov referenced those scoring woes without prompting during his postgame press conference.
Russia has not reached the Olympic semifinals since 2006, having been knocked out in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Vancouver Games by Canada, and has not medaled since 2002, when it won bronze in Salt Lake City.
Photo via Twitter/@seangentille
