Favored Russians back in final at Olympics, now face Finland

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

BEIJING (AP) — The defending champion Russians are back in the final looking for a second consecutive Olympic gold medal. They will face Finland on Sunday in Beijing. The Russians entered the tournament as the betting favorites. One more victory will give them five titles in the past six Olympics without NHL players. This has been a less dominant run by the Russians than four years ago in Pyeongchang. Finland is also a difficult opponent that is looking for the country’s first Olympic hockey gold medal. The Finns are more than capable of matching up with the Russians no matter how the final game of the tournament is played.