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Ovechkin eliminated again: Team USA crushes Russia

Henrik Lundqvist, Alex Ovechkin

Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers shakes hands with Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals after a 5-0 victory in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center on May 13, 2013 in Washington, DC.

Apparently Alex Ovechkin can see the future.

When talking about his recent struggles in the first round of the Washington Capitals’ series against the New York Rangers, Ovechkin said, “I didn’t score and we lose. I score we lose.”

That was the case this morning as Ovechkin had a goal and an assist in a crushing 8-3 loss to Team USA.

“We lost due to egregious mistakes in the neutral zone, even though we talked about it,” Ovechkin said, according to Yahoo!'s Dmitry Chesnokov. “This is carelessness.”

Ilya Kovalchuk failed to record a point for Russia in this quarterfinal match. Colorado Avalanche forward Paul Stastny was the hero for America with two goals and four points. His efforts helped chase out Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov following his interesting Russian interview.

Bryzgalov was replaced late in the second period by Stastny’s Avalanche teammate, Semyon Varlamov, who didn’t fare any better.

Among the other notable players was 23-year-old Craig Smith, who had five assists for Team USA after recording 12 points in 44 games for Nashville this year.

Russia, which beat America in the Preliminary round, has now been eliminated after winning the IIHF tournament last year. Team USA will play against either Switzerland or the Czech Republic in the Semifinals.