MINSK, Belarus -- Finland blanked the Czech Republic 3-0 in the semifinals of the ice hockey world championship on Saturday to set up a final against Russia. Earlier Saturday, Russia beat defending champion Sweden 3-1 in a matchup of the last two title holders to advance to the title game. Finlands Jori Lehtera netted a backhand in the first period before Jarkko Immonen scored on a power play in the second and Lehtera added his second into the empty net in the third. Goaltender Pekka Rinne stopped 20 shots for the shutout. Finland struggled in the group stage, losing three games, and needed a help from Switzerland to advance before eliminated Canada in the quarter-finals. "We had a tough time in the group stage and almost every game was a must win for. Now, weve been able to enjoy the game, nothing to lose" Rinne said. "As a team weve come together and its been great fun. Im really excited about this opportunity." Russia meanwhile, has won all nine of its games at the tournament, and is now one win away from its second title in three years and has a chance to avenge a disappointing loss to Finland in the quarter-finals in the Sochi Olympics. Finland last won the worlds in 2011. "Our team has a character," Russia coach Oleg Znarok said. Showing off its attacking power, Russia rebounded from an opening goal by Oscar Moller just 19 seconds into the game as Sergei Plotnikov and Sergei Shirokov both scored later in the first period. Defenceman Anton Belov drove a slap shot into the net on a rebound to make it 3-1 in the second in front of roaring Russian fans. Russia outshot Sweden 34-23, while goaltender Sergei Bobrovski made big saves to deny Moller and Joakim Lindstrom in the middle period. Danis Zaripov and defenceman Evgeni Medvedev had two assists each and star forward Alex Ovechkin got one assist in his second straight game after recovering from a right leg injury. "I had a new knee brace and felt much better," Ovechkin said. "I cant say I am 100 per cent fit but the situation is that one must be ready for anything. We have one game left and we must do everything to make sure we win." Plotnikov scored from the right circle on a rebound after 13:25 and Shirokov wristed a shot past goaltender Anders Nilsson to put Russia 2-1 ahead with two minutes left in the period. "I dont think we came up to our best level," Nilsson said. "I think they were better than us today, they had more chances and we didnt create enough chances to win." Sweden pulled Nilsson with more than two minutes to play in the third and their advantage increased to six-on-four when Denis Denisov was penalized for interference with 1:40 remaining. But all Swedish hopes ended when Mikael Backlund was ejected for a hit on Plotnikov. That incident prompted angry exchanges between Znarok and a Swedish team official. Sweden and the Czechs now have to recover for Sundays bronze medal game. "Its not the medal we wanted to play for the last game but we dont want to go home empty handed," Sweden forward Gustav Nyquist said. Washington Nationals Store . Amaro broke the NCAA all-time record for receiving yards in a season for a tight end with 1,352 during his junior campaign, eclipsing the mark of 1,329 set by Rices James Casey in 2008. Patrick Corbin Jersey . A night later, he was back to help lead a rout of the Detroit Pistons. John Wall had 20 points and 11 assists, and Beal scored 10 of his 15 points during the second quarter as Washington pulled away for a 106-82 victory on Saturday. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1787r-bri...-nationals.html. Toronto announced the deal with the restricted free agent on Saturday. The terms were not disclosed. Daniel Hudson Nationals Jersey .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. Joe Ross Nationals Jersey . The Raptors general manager has his list of possible draft selections whittled down to a handful ahead of Thursday nights NBA draft in Brooklyn, New York. The Raptors, who have auditioned dozens of players over the past couple of weeks, have the 20th overall pick in the first round, as well as the 37th and 58th picks in the second.6. If baseball had never been invented, would pine tar exist? As a wood preservative, you say? And to make medicinal soap to treat skin ailments, Im told. The soap you might use if you smear pine tar all over your neck?7. If the New York Islanders give their 2015 first-round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the payment for Thomas Vanek, who was later traded to Montreal, and if the Sabres wind up with Conor McDavid or Jack Eichel thanks to the Islanders, might the original Vanek trade from Buffalo to the Islanders have been the worst trade in modern NHL times?8. Jose Bautista tried unsuccessfully to steal third base when the Blue Jays were trailing the Red Sox 5-0. Why?9. I love it loud at rock shows and movie theatres. Why dont I love it loud at an NBA game? Because I might like to talk to the person next to me?10. Until somebody proves me wrong, Im pronouncing the controversial site of the 2022 soccer World Cup "Kotter", because thats how all of my trusted information sources tell me to pronounce "Qatar". I always get it right by remembering Gabe Kaplan and a young John Travolta.11. If Ichiro Suzuki is always referred to as "Ichiro", why do we call Yu Darvish "Darvish" and not "Yu"?12. Has Kyle Lowry ever heard of Bob Baun?13. Did you know that Justin Morneau is batting .351 for the Colorado Rockies? That stat came right out of thin air.14. Will the Coolumbus Blue Jackets ever understand how they held Sidney Crosby without a goal and why they lost to Pittsburgh?15.ddddddddddddCould we agree that the best solution to the problem of baseball games that last too long is Mark Buehrle?16. If any of 29 NHL teams blew a 3-0 series lead, there would be major repercussions. The 30th team is San Jose. Dont you agree that "major repercussions" will fall short of sufficiently explaining the fallout if the Sharks lose to the Los Angeles Kings?17. Dont you love reading box scores? Last week, I saw that Brett Gardner of the Yankees went 0 for 3 and scored four runs.18. Because you cant watch all eight first-round Stanley Cup playoff series, theres always one that you havent seen and know little about, and so, can you tell me if anything interesting has happened between the Rangers and the Flyers?19. When Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce asked for more noise from the fans at the Barclays Center, they didnt mean booing, did they?20. With Ron Francis newly-installed as the Carolina Hurricanes general manager, and as long as Kirk Muller is the Hurricanes head coach, the highest-scoring player among current GMs and among head coaches are with the same team. Has this ever happened before? I guess not, but if you have time to do research that proves otherwise, be my guest, send me the information and I will Pass It On."Question" — Moody Blues ' ' '