Ovechkin’s coach slams him and his wife defends him after breaking NHL protocol

In case you missed it last night, the NHL fined the Washington Capitals $100,000 for violating the league's COVID-19 protocols. In a statement released by the league, Capitals' players were accused of gathering social in close contact without wearing a face covering.

NHL fines Washington Capitals $100,000 for violating COVID Protocols. https://t.co/yuw4d886OL pic.twitter.com/1ZgPbpazwa
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 20, 2021

Subsequently the Capitals also announced that Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov, all Russians, have been added to the league's "COVID-Related Absence List." While this doesn't necessarily mean that this players have contract COVID-19... all signs certainly point in that direction.

Today Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette commented on the players' status and declared that they will miss "at least" the next four games while they quarantine. Laviolette wouldn't divulge full details, but did say that one of the Capitals' players has tested positive for COVID-19 and that the others have been quarantined under the NHL's contact tracing protocol.

Capitals coach Peter Laviolette says four COVID-19 protocol players -- Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samsonov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov -- are in quarantine and he believes they'll miss the next four games.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 21, 2021

Laviolette said there was a positive virus case among Capitals players, then NHL did contact tracing.
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 21, 2021

Laviolette: "We totally understand why the rules are in place and there's no arguing with that. We want to be compliant. We made a mistake and we need to do a better job."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 21, 2021

More Laviolette: "We knew the rules. We're not sitting here saying that we were uninformed or we weren't aware. We need to do a better job."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 21, 2021

Yesterday, the Capitals released a statement condemning the actions of these players. Ovechkin himself has also issued a statement.

Check it out:

pic.twitter.com/8RYGk9x2lu
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 21, 2021

Does that sound like a sincere apology from Ovechkin? Not even close. And you know why? It's not. At least, not as evidenced by Ovechkin's wife Anastasia and her take on the situation.

Check out this Instagram post from Anastasia where she absolutely rips the NHL for their inconsistent protocols:

I have to say... I kinda agree with her.

I mean, these guys sit side by side on the bench, they sweat on each other in practice, they're literally in each other's faces when they're playing the game, but once the final buzzer goes they're expected to just forget all that and keep to themselves? Talk about confusing times...

I'm all for physical distancing, mask wearing and other COVID-19 restrictions, but can common sense prevail at some point?