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Will Backstrom get his silver medal? He says it’s up to the IOC

Nicklas Backstrom

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom pauses during a news conference following a Capitols hockey practice, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. Backstrom missed the Sochi Olympics gold medal game because of a failed doping test. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

AP

It will take about two weeks for Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom to find out if he’ll get a silver medal from Sweden’s Olympic men’s hockey run. Backstrom told CSNWashington.com that he’s waiting on word from the International Olympic Committee.

As this post notes, receiving that medal might come down to the amount of pseudo-ephedrine found in his “B sample,” as his A sample came in at 190 mg (over the 150 limit).

The 26-year-old discussed his regular use of Zyrtec-D, noting that “everyone that lives in the Washington area knows how bad it is here and it’s been following me.”

“Who do I blame?,” Backstrom said. “Well, I followed the doctor’s recommendation.”

To little surprise, he admitted it’s been a tough few days, although he was positive about his Olympic experience overall. Now he needs to wait to see if he’ll get that sought-after medal to go along with his memories.

In the meantime, the NHL has already released a statement stating that it isn’t likely to be an issue, so he’s doing his best to take the whole situation in stride and avoid distracting his teammates with the situation.

“I was talking to the guys today and I said I’ll deal with this on the side. We have a real important situation here in Washington right now. We’re not in a playoff spot and we’ve got to look forward to that. We have a game on Thursday and we’re trying to get ready as we usually are.”

The Capitals return to action with a road game against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins