Three Caps Win World Championship Gold

Though the Washington Capitals may have failed to win a Stanley Cup this season, three of the organization's members will still head into the 2012 offseason with a trophy in tow.

With Caps forwards Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin as well as prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov sporting the famous red jerseys, Team Russia defeated Team Slovakia 6-2 in the IIHF World Championships final on Sunday to cap a perfect 10-0-0 tournament run and win the country's fourth World Championship title and third in the last five years.

After Slovakia, who eliminated Canada and the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal and semifinal respectively, took a 1-0 on a Zdeno Chara goal 1:06 into the contest, the Russians went on a 5-0 run, ultimately capping an easy victory. Ovechkin recorded two assists and Semin scored two goals with an assist, while Kuznetsov dressed as the 13th forward but did not see any ice time. Ex-Caps goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves to secure Russia's win.

Ovechkin and Semin joined the Russians' prior to the quarterfinal, after the Caps were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the New York Rangers. In three games, Caps captain Ovechkin scored two goals and added two assists, to go along with a plusminus of +5, while Semin had two goals and three assists with a +4 in as many games. In 10 games, Traktor Chelyabinsk forward Kuznetsov had two goals, four assists, and a +3. The tournament's league-leader was Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeny Malkin, who in 10 games scored 11 goals with eight assists and a +16.

Caps center Nicklas Bäckström also played in the tournament, picking up one assist and a -2 in two games before his Sweden was eliminated by the Czech Republic in the quarterfinal. The Czech team triumphed in the bronze-match, with Finland finishing fourth and Slovakia taking home the silver medal. All players now head to their offseason.