Evgeny Nabokov made 23 saves for his second straight shutout, and Sergei Fedorov scored the opening goal to help Russia beat Finland 4-0 on Friday for a spot in the world hockey final.
Seeking its first world title since 1993, Russia will face Canada on Sunday after the host country eliminated Sweden 5-4.
“It seems to me that almost everything came together,” the 38-year-old Fedorov said.
Danis Zaripov, Alexei Morozov and Maxim Sushinsky also scored for Russia, a 2-1 loser to Finland last year in the semifinals in Moscow.
Nabokov hasn’t allowed a goal since Switzerland’s Romano Lemm scored at 18:25 of the third period in Russia’s final round-robin game.
“The coaching staff asked us to play a bit more defensively and the guys took pride in playing back a bit, holding onto your man,” Fedorov said. “It was a team effort.”
Russia played without Atlanta Thrashers star Ilya Kovalchuk, who served a one-game suspension for taking two game misconducts in the tournament.
