accomplished several feats. As part of Team Finland's bronze achievement, he is the eldest ice hockey player Olympic medalist, at age 43 years and 234 days. He increased the Olympic record for total ice hockey points, to 43. He shares the record for most appearances in ice hockey at the Olympics, 2014 was his 6th Olympiad. Nicklas Bäckström's "A-sample" Olympic drug test detected the regulated drug pseudoephedrine; he was prevented from playing in the final. His after final "B-sample" detected a value that exceeded the limit.
Men's tournament
The tournament featured 12 countries, 9 qualifying through the IIHF World Ranking, and 3 through subsequent qualifying tournaments. The format was the same as 2010; there were three groups of 4 to determine seeding, with four rounds of elimination games. Each group winner received a bye into the second round, along with the best second place team while the remaining eight teams played a qualification game. Each quarter-final winner advanced to the semis with the winners playing for the gold medal, and the losers the bronze. The NHL consented that its players could participate in the tournament.
Qualification
Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2012 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. The top nine teams in the World Ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, while all other teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots in the Olympics.
Participating nations
The twelve nations played in three pools.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Women's tournament
The women's tournament ran from 8 to 20 February. Eight nations contested the gold. A new format was introduced, with the top 4 ranked teams in group A, with the next four in group B. The bottom two group A teams played the top 2 teams in group B in the quarter finals, where the winners played either the first or second place team in group A.
Qualification
Qualification for the women's tournament at the 2014 Winter Olympics was determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championships. The top five teams in the World Ranking received automatic berths into the Olympics, Russia gained direct entry by being host and all other teams had an opportunity to qualify for the remaining two spots in the Olympics.