Kaprizov lifts Russia to OT victory over Germany for gold

GANGNEUNG, South Korea — The Olympic anthem was merely background noise, the doping scandal the farthest thing from their minds.

As the white flag with the five Olympic rings rose toward the rafters Sunday following the gold medal game in men’s hockey, the champion Russians in their nondescript red-and-white uniforms joined their fans cloaked in red, white and blue and belted out the “State Anthem of the Russian Federation,” drowning out the recorded song that was required as part of International Olympic Committee sanctions.

This Olympic title meant so much more to the Russians, no matter that the tournament was missing NHL players and the “Olympic Athletes from Russia” were all here only after months of scandal.

Joyous players tossed coach Oleg Znarok in the air at center ice as fans let out the same “ROSS-I-YA” chants that filled the arena in Sochi four years ago, where home ice meant nothing as the Russians lost in the quarterfinals. There was no such disappointment this time as the Russians triumphed in the tournament they were favored to win, capturing gold with a 4-3 overtime victory over Germany after Kirill Kaprizov’s power-play goal capped a classic final and gave the nation a jubilant moment following weeks of disappointment.

“We understood the whole thing from the start so we were calm about it,” coach Oleg Znarok said. “Russia is in our hearts.”

The win came only a few hours after the IOC decided against allowing the Russians to march under their flag in the closing ceremony Sunday night after a curler and a bobsledder had positive drug tests during the games.

It didn’t seem to matter to the Russian players that they couldn’t wear the Russian Coat of Arms on their chests or that they won their first hockey gold medal since 1992 under the same circumstances as 26 years ago: playing under a neutral flag with the NHL opting to stay home after participating in the past five Olympics.

“The medal is the same with or without the NHL,” said defenseman Slava Voynov, who scored the opening goal with 0.5 seconds left in the first period. “Maybe the tournament was a little different, but the emotions and happi- ness are the same.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a telephone call to Znarok after the victory, which gave the country its second gold and 17th overall medal of the Olympics.

Even with Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Bobrovsky back in North America, this gold medal was particularly sweet because of the backdrop of sanctions and the Russians’ almost three-decade drought. After International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel put the first Russian hockey medals of any color since 2002 around the necks of each player, Russian Hockey Federation President Vladislav Tretiak — a three-time Olympic gold medalist and Soviet Hall of Fame goaltender — gave out handshakes and hugs.