Washington Capitals' forward Evgeni Kuznetsov and defenceman Dmitry Orlov will join Russia for the World Hockey Championships. However, Alex Ovechkin will not head to Germany to play in the tournament.

The Capitals were ousted by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night 2-0 in Game 7 of their second round playoff series.

Kuznetsov, 24, had 19 goals and 40 assists in 82 regular season games for the Caps to go along with five goals and five assists in 13 playoff games this season. Orlov, 25, had six goals and 27 assists in 82 regular season games. The blue liner added three assists in 13 games during the Capitals' playoff run.

Russia is off to a strong start so far in this year's World Hockey Championship, with two regulation wins and one overtime win for a total of eight points. They currently sit one point back of Group A leaders USA and Latvia.

This will be the first time Ovechkin has not participated in a World Hockey Championship since he has been in the NHL.