Continuing the collection of look-back pieces detailing former Montreal Canadiens’ performances at the Olympics. In 2006, Andrei Markov joined a stacked Russian roster only to fall short in the bronze medal game.

When Andrei Markov was 27 years old, he was amid the best NHL season in his nascent career. It would conclude with him totaling 46 points and a plus-13 rating in 67 games, good enough for the fifth-highest point total on the Habs that campaign.

His play garnered him a spot on the Russian Olympic team, where he would join a stacked roster comprised of greats such as Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Canadiens’ teammate Alex Kovalev.

With such talent, it was fair to assume that Russia had a shot at a podium finish and that the program would continue a steady consistency of international success. What Markov may not have been aware of, is that 2006 would be the closest he would get to medaling on Russia’s Olympic team.

Russia was slotted into Group B, along with Slovakia, Sweden, the United States, Kazakhstan and Latvia. In the opening match against the Slovaks, Marian Gaborik played hero in the third frame. The then Minnesota Wild winger scored twice in the 20-minute span, to clinch a 5-3 win for his country.

This was Russia’s sole loss in the preliminary round, as they would win 5-0 (against Sweden), 1-0 (against Kazakhstan), 9-2 (against Latvia) and 5-4 (against the U.S.) respectively. Markov’s home nation placed second in the Group B table and was—albeit amidst controversy—slotted to take on Canada in the Quarterfinals.

Russia eliminated the Canadians, who had endured one of the worst Olympic results in the country’s history, losing 2-0. They then turned their attention to Finland in the semifinal, who were experiencing one of the best results in their history.

To put into perspective how offensively dominant the Finns were, five of the top-ten scoring leaders in the Turin tournament hailed from the land of the thousand lakes. Datsyuk was also a top-ten scorer with eight points, the same as Olli Jokinen and Jere Lehtinen. The Finns decisively shut out their opponents 4-0, kicking Russia to battle for bronze.

Matched up against the Czech Republic, the Russians were again kept off the scoring column, losing 3-0 and finishing fourth in the tournament. Czech netminder Tomas Vokoun stood on his head to stop all 28 shots faced. It should also be noted that the Russians doubled the shot total of their opponent. For his part, Markov led his team’s blue line in scoring, even if it was only three points, and registered a solid plus-seven rating.

Markov excelled in his next three NHL campaigns, totaling 49 points in 77 games during the 2006-07 season, 58 points in 82 games in 07-08 and a career-high 64 points in 78 games in 08-09. He made the next two Olympic rosters, but the results were similar.

In 2010, Canada got their revenge, trouncing the Russians 7-3 in the quarterfinal. In 2014, Markov was in the twilight of his career, and Russia lost against those pesky Finns 3-1 in the quarters.

All that being said, Markov will be remembered by Habs fans for his two All-Star nods and for being the veteran leader among the young defensive Canadiens corps of the 2010s. Unfortunately, he never wore Olympic hardware around his neck despite the amount of talent Russia possessed.