Russia's Metallurg Magnitogorsk won the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the second time in three years after beating CSKA Moscow 3-1 in game seven of the play-off final on Tuesday to take the series 4-3.

The club from the Ural Mountains also lifted the Gagarin Cup, awarded to the league winners, in the 2013/14 season.

The KHL was formed in 2008 and is regarded as the second most competitive hockey league in the world after the National Hockey League (NHL).

The KHL is made up of 28 clubs from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Slovakia, Croatia and Finland. (Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy, editing by Alan Baldwin) </s> Pavel Datsyuk's return to Russia has culminated with another championship victory for the former Detroit Red Wings star.

Datsyuk's SKA St. Petersburg won the Gagarin Cup on Sunday, defeating Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5-3 in Game 5 to win the Kontinental Hockey League's championship series 4 games to 1.

Datsyuk, 38, was injured for Game 5 but joined team captain and former NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk on the ice following the game to hoist the Cup.

Datsyuk, who won two Stanley Cups with the Red Wings, scored 12 goals and had 22 assists during the KHL regular season and added four goals and five assists in the seven postseason games in which he appeared.

He received congratulations from his agent, who noted his client's feat of winning championships in both the NHL and KHL.

Congratulations to my friend and client Pavel Datsyuk on winning Gagarin Cup - KHL championship. One of the first ones who won both CUPS — Dan Milstein-Hockey (@DMilsteinHockey) April 16, 2017

Winning championships in both the NHL and KHL is a rare feat. Others who hoisted both titles include Oleg Tverdovsky, Slava Kozlov and Mike Keenan, who became the first coach to accomplish the feat in 2014.

It was SKA St. Petersburg's second championship in three years. The team lost just twice during the KHL playoffs. Metallurg Magnitogorsk was trying to repeat as league champion after winning the Gagarin Cup in 2016.

Datsyuk, a four-time NHL All-Star selection, left the Red Wings in June to return to his native Russia and the KHL, where he played during the NHL lockout during the 2012-13 season. He ranks sixth in Red Wings franchise history with 918 points, having scored 314 goals (ranked eighth) and tallied 604 assists (fifth) in 953 career games.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report. </s> (AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Russia's Nikita Kucherov, left, celebrates after scoring a goal with Russia's Artemi Panarin, right, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, G...

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Finland's Mikko Lehtonen celebrates after scoring his a goal during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, Germany, Sunday, May 21, 2017.

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Russia's Nikita Kucherov, right, dives to score a goal past Finland's Harri Sateri, left, and Finland's Joonas Jarvinen, center, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the...

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek). Finland's Topi Jaakola, right, challenges for the puck Russia's Sergei Plotnikov, left, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, Germany, Sunda...

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) - Telling himself to stay calm, Henrik Lundqvist stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout and Sweden dethroned two-time defending champion Canada to win the world hockey championship 2-1 on Sunday night.

Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored shootout goals for the Swedes to win their first title since 2013 and prevent Canada from a three-peat.

"It was pretty nerve-racking in the end, but we pulled it off," said Lundqvist, the New York Rangers star who made 41 saves in regulation and overtime to get it to a shootout. "What a game. It was so exciting. It's been an amazing week.

Lundqvist and Canadian counterpart Calvin Pickard, who saved tournament MVP William Nylander's first shootout attempt for Sweden, were outstanding in a game in which the Canadians narrowly outshot their opponents 43-42.

"This is how close it should be when you get to the final game," Swedish coach Rikard Gronborg said. "It's a huge win for Swedish hockey."

The respect between the sides was evident from the off as defenses held firm in the opening two periods.

The breakthrough came against the odds, with Backstrom penalized for slashing, when Victor Hedman scored short-handed with 20.8 seconds left in the second period.

It was a strange goal from distance as the defenseman just lifted the puck and it somehow bounced in through Pickard's legs. The presence of Joel Lundqvist, Henrik's twin brother, may have distracted the Canadian goaltender.

"It was a fluke goal," Swedish forward Marcus Kruger said.

O'Reilly tied it in the third period on a rebound after an initial shot from Mitch Marner.

It was tense, and fans were left gasping as the action swung from end to end. Lundqvist said he hoped fans enjoyed now neither team sat back in the third period or overtime.

Nate MacKinnon missed a good chance to clinch the win for Canada on a power play before overtime, when both goaltenders maintained their exceptional form.

"I want to congratulate Sweden. They were an exceptional team, it was a lot of fun to play them," Canadian coach Jon Cooper said. "If we were going to lose to somebody, I'm glad those guys won."

Earlier, Nikita Kucherov sealed a 5-3 win for Russia in the bronze-medal game against Finland.

"It's not the medal we wanted," Russian coach Oleg Znarok said.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Russia's Nikita Kucherov, right, dives to score a goal past Finland's Harri Sateri, left, and Finland's Joonas Jarvinen, center, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the... . Russia's Nikita Kucherov, left, celebrates after scoring a goal with Russia's Artemi Panarin, right, during the Ice Hockey World Championships bronze medal match between Russia and Finland in the LANXESS arena in Cologne, G... COLOGNE, Germany - Telling himself to stay calm, Henrik Lundqvist stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout and Sweden dethroned two-time defending champion Canada to win the world hockey championship 2-1 on Sunday night.

Start the conversation, or Read more at CBS 3 Springfield. </s> Finland came from behind to beat favourites Canada 3-1 and win the Ice Hockey World Championship in Slovakia.

Finland's Oliwer Kaski missed a penalty in Sunday's final before Canada, aiming for a 27th world title, went ahead through Shea Theodor.

Canada then hit the crossbar twice before Finland captain Marko Antilla struck in the second and third periods.

Harri Pesonen sealed victory to give the Finns their third world title - and their first since 2011.

Finland also beat Canada 3-1 in their opening group match and were the underdogs in all three knockout games, previously beating two-time defending champions Sweden and Russia.

Russia won the bronze medal with a penalty shootout win over the Czech Republic after the match finished 2-2 after regulation and overtime.

Earlier in the competition, Great Britain claimed a dramatic 4-3 overtime win against France to retain their top-flight status.
• Ice Hockey World Championship 2019: When two Big Bens struck for GB </s> BRATISLAVA: Finland pulled off a 3-1 upset of ice hockey giants Canada on Sunday (May 26) to claim gold for just the third time at the men's world championships in Slovakia.

Canada, who were bidding for a record-equalling 27th title to draw level with Russia, grabbed the lead in the final through Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Shea Theodore.

But Marko Anttila, who scored the winner in a 1-0 semi-final victory over favourites Russia, netted twice to put Finland ahead before Harri Pesonen sealed victory late in the third period.

Finland also won the competition the last time it was held in Slovakia, in 2011. They lifted their other title in 1995.

Russia took the consolation prize of bronze after beating the Czech Republic 3-2 following a shootout. </s> The Stanley Cup Final will start Monday, but the who and the where are still undecided.

The expansion Golden Knights are in as the Western Conference representative, but the Eastern Conference winner won’t be settled until 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday when the Capitals and Lightning play Game 7 in Tampa.

If the Lightning win, the Stanley Cup Final will start in Tampa. If the Capitals win, the Final begins in Las Vegas.

The Lightning last played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 when they lost to the Blackhawks, while the Capitals' only appearance came when they lost to the Red Wings in 1998.

Here is a preview of Game 7:

Why the Washington Capitals can win

1. The mix of players finally seems right. The Capitals have had more talented teams in recent playoff runs, but they have never shown this level of commitment.

2. The Capitals have shown more intensity. Tom Wilson, Devante Smith-Pelly and Alex Ovechkin rank among the top four hitters in the playoffs. Brooks Orpik is sixth and T.J. Oshie isn’t far off their pace. The number isn’t as important as much as the energy and confidence those hits create. The Capitals fed off the physicality in winning Game 6.

3. Evgeny Kuznetsov has been dominant in this series. In the six games, he has four goals, five assists and 29 shots on goal. He also has 14 points during his current nine-game point scoring streak.

Why the Tampa Bay Lightning can win

1. They know how to handle the Capitals. They just beat them three times in a row in Games 3 through 5.

2. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has been a force in net, stopping 131 of the 139 shots (.942 save percentage) he has faced over the past four games.

3. We haven’t seen the best from this team. Tampa Bay has not looked sharp for much of this series. The Lightning, the East's best team in the regular season. have another level, and Game 7 should bring it out of them. </s> The St. Louis Blues defeat the Boston Bruins 4-1 to win their first Stanley Cup title in Game 7 of the NHL hockey final on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, in Boston. </s> TAMPA, Fla. – None of Washington, D.C.’s four major sports teams have won a championship since 1992 (Redskins – Super Bowl XXVI). The Washington Capitals, D.C.’s hockey team, will have a chance to put the freeze on that drought.

Wednesday, the Capitals defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 in a winner-take-all game seven of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Final. With the victory, the Caps advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1998. Washington has never won a Stanley Cup Final game, much less a title.

Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring just 1:02 into the game. 8:59 into the second period, Andre Burakovsky scored his first of two goals to put the Caps ahead 2-0. His second goal of the night came with less than four minutes to play in the second period and gave Washington a 3-0 advantage.

Putting the icing on the cake, Nicklas Backstrom added a goal in the final four minutes of the third period. Braden Holtby delivered his second straight shutout in goal for the Caps.

The Capitals will face the Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team, in the best of seven Stanley Cup Final. That series begins 8:00 p.m. Monday in Las Vegas.
In ice hockey, SKA St. Petersburg wins the Gagarin Cup, the championship of the Kontinental Hockey League, with a 5–3 win over Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Game 5 to win the championship series 4–1.