Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin Help Russia Win Gold at IIHF World Championship

Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and the Russians defeated Slovakia 6-2 to win gold at the IIHF World Hockey Championship.

Slovakia opened the scoring just over a minute into the first period on a slap shot from captain Zdeno Chara.

Slovakia would hold the lead until the midway point of the period when Ovechkin slipped a backhand pass to Semin, who scored five-hole to even the score at one.

It was all Russia in the second period. Alexander Perezhogin and Alexei Tereshenko made it 3-1 before Semin notched his second of the game to give Russia a commanding three goal lead.  

Pavel Datsyuk registered his third point of the game on a goal that made it 5-1 Russia in the third period. Chara scored his second of the game on the power play midway though the third, but that was it for Slovakia. Evgeni Malkin capped a brilliant tournament with a goal late in the third, to secure a 6-2 Russian win. 

Russia would finish the tournament with perfect record of 10-0 to capture their 26th gold medal in tournament history. 

The Washington Capitals' playoff run caused Ovechkin and Semin to miss the entire preliminary round, but they made up for it in the medal round.

Ovechkin had two goals and an assist for three points in three games, while Semin’s two goals and three assists gave him five points in three games. Not bad for a player who was a non-factor in the Capitals’ 14 playoff games, registering only four points and a minus-four rating.