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Minsk, Belarus • Star forwards Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin scored eight minutes apart to lead Russia to a 5-2 victory over Finland in the final of the ice hockey world championship on Sunday for its second title in three years.
With Russian President Vladimir Putin looking on, Ovechkin tied the game at 2-2 in the second period with a backhand and Malkin wristed a shot high into the roof of the net on a power play for the go-ahead goal. Danis Zaripov also scored a goal and added two assists.
Viktor Tikhonov and Sergei Shirokov scored a goal each.
Putin watched the game sitting next to Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in the stands, as the Russian team gained a measure of redemption following a painful loss to Finland in the quarterfinals of the Sochi Olympics just three months ago. It was Russia's fifth gold since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.
"It's great to win it," forward Nikolai Kulyomin said. "We were all coming here to win."
The worlds was the first major competition for new Russia coach Oleg Znarok. Znarok was suspended for the final, however, after making a cut-throat gesture toward Sweden's assistant coach in the semifinals.
The Associated Press