By ,
Published May 03, 2016
Prague, Czech Republic (SportsNetwork.com) - It took a while, but the addition of Alex Ovechkin to Team Russia's roster paid off.
Ovechkin -- who flew to Europe after his Capitals were eliminated in a Game 7 by the New York Rangers on Wednesday -- picked up an insurance marker in a four-goal third-period burst that powered the Russians past Team USA, 4-0, on Saturday, sending them to the gold-medal game at the 2015 World Hockey Championship.
Sergei Mozyakin broke a scoreless tie at 7:17 of the final frame, Ovechkin tallied just over three minutes later and Vadim Shipachyov scored with just over 4 1/2 to play. Evgeni Malkin added an empty-net tally with 85 seconds to go.
Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 35 saves, while counterpart Connor Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 29 shots.
Russia, which has finished first in the tourney four of the last seven years, will defend its title against Team Canada on Sunday. The host Czechs and the Americans will play for bronze.
Canada disappointed the host nation crowd earlier Saturday with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in the first semifinal at Prague.
Mike Smith stopped all 23 shots he faced, including a barrage early in the contest, and the Canadians received goals from Taylor Hall and Jason Spezza in their lowest scoring game of the tournament.
The Canadians will play in the gold-medal game at the worlds for the first time since 2009 when they suffered a second straight title match loss to Russia. Canada last won the championship in 2007.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/russia-canada-to-meet-in-world-hockey-final