Russia didn't just lose at the 2014 Winter Olympics. It was embarrassed and outplayed during a tournament that had been seven years in the making. Sochi was awarded the Winter Games in 2007 and it seemed like everything outside of the Bolshoy Ice Dome and Shayba Arena was just window dressing.
Vladimir Putin didn't loom in the stands like a gargoyle during slopestyle events, but he was on hand for Russian hockey games.
Just imagine the pressure Putin's presence put on the players—it's akin to Barack Obama heavily petitioning for a Summer Olympics just to show the world how dominating men's basketball is in America while on home soil.
That was the weight that Evgeni Malkin carried to his home nation. With his team bowing out without a medal for the third consecutive Winter Games, it's hard to imagine that he's not bringing some of that extra baggage back to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Losing in Sochi isn't like losing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Malkin and his teammates had one chance to win a gold medal in front of hometown fans. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it developed ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Franklin Steele
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