from Andrew Podnicks of IIHF.com,

This is Canada's first gold since 2007, and with the win Sidney Crosby becomes the 26th member of the Triple Gold Club and the first to captain all three championship teams.

The penalty-free opening period was a blend of nerves and skill, fear of making a critical error and blazing speed. Both teams had great chances to score, although Canada held a wide margin in puck possession. Sean Couturier fired a rebound over the open net while being checked, and Alex Ovechkin made a great rush only to fire high when the time came to shoot.

Cody Eakin opened the scoring at 18:10 when Viktor Tikhonov failed to clear the zone. Tyler Ennis got the puck and curled through the middle, then turned and fired a low shot that went off Eakin’s skate and in. The goal, by Canada’s fourth line, came on Eakin’s third shift of the game.

The player of the period, though, was Sidney Crosby, who made several great passes to create good scoring chances for linemates Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.

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