Russian goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) stops the puck in front of his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at HP Pavilion. San Jose defeated Colorado 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE
Can Semyon Varlamov lead the Russians to a gold medal at the 2012 IIHF World Hockey Championship on Sunday?
The 2012 IIHF World Championship comes to an end on Sunday with the gold medal game between Slovakia and the heavily-favored Russians. Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov has backstopped the Russians to the title game on the strength of a 1.74 GAA and a 93.99 save percentage, both tops in the tournament. He has played 70 percent of the team's time on ice and picked up seven victories.
Opposing him in the other net will be Slovakia's Jan Laco, who is close behind Varlamov with a 93.55 save percentage and a 1.75 GAA. But will he be able to stop Evgeni Malkin, who leads the tournament with 10 goals and 18 points.
Slovakia's Tomas Kopecky leads the team with five goals while Miroslav Satan and Branko Radivojevic each have four goals. Can they pull off the upset, or will the Russians win for the first time since they won back-to-back titles in 2008-09?
Game time/date: 11:30 a.m. MT, Sunday, May 20, 2012
Location: Helsinki, Finland
TV (tape delay): NBC Sports Network, 7:00 p.m. MT
For more hockey analysis, news and notes, visit SB Nation NHL.
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