Alex Ovechkin is in Russia, competing to win the World Championship on his native soil, but that's not where he wants to be playing.
The Washington Capitals captain and face of the franchise is still coming to grips with another early playoff elimination. After winning the Presidents' Trophy, it appeared this was the year Washington was destined to breakthrough. Instead, the second-round hurdle tripped the Capitals once again.
Now 30, Ovechkin admitted gearing up for another offseason of training isn't as easy as it used to be.
"I start thinking about summer, training and all that kind of stuff," Ovechkin told Chuck Gormley of CSN Mid-Atlantic. "Right now you have to take months off or whatever and start doing it again. It's not fun, to be honest with you. When you get older, you have to take more time to practice and train (than) when you were 21 or 22 years old. But again, it's life and you have to live with it."
Ovechkin was the leader the Capitals needed, scoring 12 points in 12 games, but it still wasn't enough as the Pittsburgh Penguins won the most advertised series of the playoffs.
"Obviously, it's disappointing. Obviously you don't want to stand here and talk about finishing the year and all that kind of stuff," he said.
"It sucks when you lose in the first round, second round or third round - it doesn't matter. Your goal is to win the Cup, obviously."
