Washington Capitals forwards Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and defenceman Dmitry Orlov are heading to the world championships to play for Russia.
The three were eliminated Tuesday night by the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of their second-round series.
This will be Ovechkin’s 12th world championship appearance. The 30-year-old has won the event three times, most recently in 2014.
Kuznetsov will be making his fourth appearance, having won two golds and a silver. The 23-year-old enjoyed a breakout season this year, leading the Capitals with 77 points in 82 games.
This will be just the second chance Orlov has had to play at the worlds. The 24-year-old skated in three games with the senior team in 2014.
With this year’s championships being held in Russia, the pressure is on for the host nation to perform.
Russia lost their opener to the Czech Republic, and had a tough time beating Kazakhstan before winning easily against Latvia.
Before the recent additions, the team had room for four more skaters and a goalie so it’s possible more another addition could be made depending on how the rest of Round 2 plays out.
