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ARLINGTON, Va. -- Alex Ovechkin apologized for Russias hockey performance at the Olympics, a sentiment put in perspective by the encouraging news that his father was on the way home after heart surgery. Far more upset was Nicklas Backstrom, who remains clearly miffed that an allergy medication hes taken for years cost him a chance to play for a gold medal. The Washington Capitals held their first post-Olympics practice Tuesday, a session overshadowed by residue from the Winter Games even as they tried to focus on the resumption of their NHL schedule. Ovechkin was one of the faces of Sochi, bent on winning the gold on home ice. Instead, the Russians were eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive Olympics. "First of all, I want to say sorry to the fans," Ovechkin said. "Because its once in a lifetime opportunity to represent your country in the Olympics, and you didnt get the results, you didnt get any medal. Of course the fans, the media and the people who support Russia, family, was upset, but life goes on." Ovechkin took the Olympic disappointment especially hard four years ago, but this time he had to immediately turn his attention to his family. His father, who has a history of heart problems, became ill following one of his sons games and required surgery. Ovechkin wasnt told until three days later, after Russia had been eliminated. "Soon as I found out that hes in hospital and hes feeling not that good and he could be dying, I just forget the game that we lose against Finland. ... Just go there and spend time with him and saw him," Ovechkin said. "It was great feelings to see whats happening and how hes feeling. Thats most important thing." Ovechkin said his father, mother and brother were flying home to Moscow on Tuesday. Ovechkin said he understands the criticism he received for his play during the Olympics -- "I didnt score lots of goals out there" -- but the 28-year-old three-time league MVP appears ready to refocus on the Capitals, who resume play Thursday at Florida. "This is a very tough loss for me and for Russia, but Im almost 30," Ovechkin said. "I have to handle it. I have to fight through it." The lingering Olympic sting was more evident on the face of Backstrom, who helped lead Sweden to the gold medal game but was pulled from the lineup shortly before faceoff because he had failed a doping test. Without one of its top players, Sweden lost 3-0 to Canada. "Ive had allergies for seven years, since I got here," Backstrom said. "Everyone that lives in the Washington area knows how bad it is here. Ive been taking Zyrtec-D for the last seven years and I havent been doing anything differently. Ive been playing internationally, in the world championships (and) Olympics before, and so I havent done anything differently." An ingredient in the allergy medicine is on the list of banned substances for Olympic competition, but Backstrom said he was told by the Sweden team doctor that he could take one pill a day without triggering a positive test. "Who do I blame?" Backstrom said. "Well, I followed the doctors recommendation." Backstrom said he expects a two-week wait to find out whether he will be awarded his silver medal, which is being held at the International Ice Hockey Federation offices in Zurich. "Obviously, its not fun to deal with," Backstrom said. "I dont wish no one to have to go through this, if Im going to be honest with you. Its not fun. But Ive got to look forward to play next game on Thursday. Ive got to focus on Washington right now." Backstroms teammates, much like the international hockey community in general, were shocked at how his situation was handled. "Its just ridiculous that it can happen at a big tournament like this," forward Martin Erat said, "at the Olympics just before the finals when everybody is ready to go and you just want to enjoy the sport. It just happened because of some stupidity, and its just unbelievable that this can happen in the Olympics." The Capitals sent five players to Sochi, and four of them have dealt with some sort of unexpected life event that has derailed an attempt to return to normalcy after the Olympics. Ovechkin had the health scare with his father, Backstrom has the fallout from the doping test, Swedish forward Marcus Johansson is stuck in Stockholm because of an visa issue -- the Capitals expect him to join them in Florida for Thursdays game -- and Erat returned to his family in Nashville, Tenn., as soon as he could after the Czech Republic was eliminated. "We just finished our quarterfinal game, and I went for my phone, and our friend had called me and said your baby girl, Victoria Bella, is born," Erat said. "First we lost in the quarterfinal, it was hard to swallow, and when I got the news, it brought back a smile on my face." Air Vapormax Soldes . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell while figuring out which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Air Vapormax 97 Soldes . "You hate when they score," he said with some distaste at the thought. "You take pride in it. http://www.vapormaxpascher.be/air-max-vapormax-plus-pas-cher.html . Louis Cardinals. He was 48. The commissioners office said Bell died in his home state of Ohio. Bell had not been feeling well over the weekend and had been scheduled to see doctors later Monday at the Cleveland Clinic. Vapormax 2019 Femme Pas Cher . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. Vapormax Femme Pas Cher . -- Andy Granatelli, the former CEO of STP motor oil company who made a mark on motorsports as a car owner, innovator and entrepreneur, has died. INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Facing an opponent he had never seen play, Novak Djokovic relied on some old-fashioned word of mouth. Asking around the locker room and getting some intel from his coach, Djokovic went out and beat Alejandro Gonzalez 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 on Tuesday, ending the Colombians surprising run to the third round at the BNP Paribas Open. "It took me a little bit to get used to it," Djokovic said. "Youve got new faces and new players who are able to challenge the top guys, and this is good for the sport. It also makes us work harder and improve trying to get our game to a high level because the guys are coming up." Djokovic, a two-time champion at Indian Wells, earned the only two breaks of the third set, including a seven-deuce game that he closed out with a clever backhand drop volley. John Isner, the lone American remaining in the mens draw, defeated Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan 6-4, 6-3 to reach the fourth round. Isner fired 13 aces, hit 32 winners and gained the only two breaks of the match. Lu managed just nine winners and never had a break point against Isner. Top-seeded Li Na played Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in a late match. Gonzalez had never won an ATP Tour match in six tries before Indian Wells. He won third-set tiebreakers in his first two matches here before keeping the worlds second-ranked man on the court for just over 1 1/2 hours. "I just had a big loss of concentration and allowed him to win the second set for no reason," Djokovic said. "Bounced back better in the third, but I obviously cannot allow myself to have these particular concentration lapses in the match at this level." Djokovic had 28 winners to 11 for Gonzalez, who also had 23 unforced errors in his first Masters 1000 event. Djokovic next plays 24th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia, who beat 16th-seeded Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-3. The Serb is the highest remaining seed left after top-seeded Rafael Nadal was upset by Alexandr Dolgopolov a day earlier. Jelena Jankovic routed Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals in a matchup of former tournament champions and No.dddddddddddd 1-ranked players. Jankovic next plays second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat 22nd-seeded Alize Cornet 7-5, 6-3. Jankovic made the quarterfinals for the first time since winning the Indian Wells title in 2010, when she beat Wozniacki. The Dane won the title in 2011 and lost to Maria Sharapova in last years final. But she offered little resistance against Jankovic, who raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set before Wozniacki held at 40-love to avoid getting shut out in front of her fiance, golfer Rory McIlroy. "I kind of found my way, found my rhythm, and I was striking the ball very well out there and took control of the points," Jankovic said. "I just did not let her play what she plays. That was very important." Jankovic was the worlds top-ranked player in 2008. Wozniacki reached the top spot in 2010; shes now No. 12. Jankovic, who is ranked eighth, was the first top-10 player Wozniacki has faced so far this year. Jankovic ended a five-match skid against Wozniacki, with the Serb having recovered from a back problem that occurred in her match two nights earlier. Jankovic didnt hit on Monday and felt too stiff to put her shoes on. "I went on court today not knowing how I was going to feel, if I was going to be limited with my movement or if I was going to play my game," she said. "But I did and I was surprised." Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi failed to build on her upset of defending champion Maria Sharapova, losing to countrywoman Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-1. American Lauren Davis withdrew from her match against qualifier Casey Dellacqua of Australia because of a gastrointestinal illness. Dellacqua advanced to the quarters against No. 6 seed Simona Halep of Romania, who beat Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. In other mens matches, 30th-seeded Fernando Verdasco beat No. 8 seed Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (5), 6-1; and Roberto Bautista Agut beat Jarkko Nieminen, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (6). ' ' '