Trainer Vyacheslav Bykov is already being talked of as a coaching great, having ended a 15-year wait for the world title last year with a 5-4 overtime victory against the hosts in Canada. In retaining the title, his team were indebted to goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who saved 37 out of 38 shots.
President Dmitry Medvedev personally called Bykov to congratulate the team after the victory, the Kremlin press service said.
It looked like an uphill struggle for Russia when Jason Spezza fired Canada ahead in the sixth minute, but Oleg Saprykin leveled the match seven minutes later and Alexander Radulov finished the scoring 15 minutes into the second period.
Radulov, a controversial presence at the tournament after walking out on his contract with the NHL's Nashville Predators last summer to join Salavat Yulayev Ufa in the Kontinental Hockey League, praised the team performance..
"Do you know who the main hero is? The Russian hockey team," he told RIA Novosti after the final. "We have a team of 25 people, plus trainers, masseurs, skate sharpeners, doctors, managers. Everyone earned this, and everyone has done something for this victory."
Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko said the victory returned Russia to the top of international hockey.
"This means a great deal to the country. This is not a one-off victory, we have returned to the leadership of world hockey," he said.
"This team has a special spirit," Mutko told journalists in the arena after the final. "They fought like lions. And Bryzgalov and Kovalchuk are simply heroes."
It is the third time Russia has won the gold medal, after victories last year and in 1993, and with the Soviet Union's 22 golds takes them past Canada's total of 24 titles.
