Caps step up security for Ovechkin, GM says it's difficult for Russian players right now

With the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia, there's word the Washington Capitals have decided to step up security for NHL star Alex Ovechkin, as well as his family.

Meanwhile, McClellan says Ovechkin is getting "pressure from all sides."

"It's difficult for all the Russian players in the league," MacLellan told NBC Sports. "There's a lot of pressure put on them to have a political opinion either way and they're trying to balance out how they live their lives and what their political opinions are and the repercussions that could happen back home."

"I just think it's hard for them to figure out where they fit into the two situations and what they can say, what they can't say and what their true feelings are."

Besides Ovechkin, Washington also has Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov. However, none of those are as high profile as Ovechkin, nor has any of them been such a public supporter of Russian president Vladimir Putin over the years.

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