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Controversial ending: Ovechkin’s late goal waved off, Russia falls to Sweden 2-1

World Cup Of Hockey 2016 - Team Sweden v Team Russia

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 18: Alex Ovechkin #8 of Team Russia skates against Team Sweden during the World Cup of Hockey 2016 at the Air Canada Centre on September 18, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Through 59 minutes, Team Russia looked as flat as they’ve ever looked in a major tournament. But that’s when they made things interesting.

With 33 seconds remaining and Russia trailing Sweden 2-0, Alex Ovechkin got his team on the board.

Then, with under 10 seconds remaining, Ovechkin appeared to score the game-tying goal. Unfortunately for the Russians, the goal was waved off because Ovechkin pushed the glove across the goal line with his glove.

Ovechkin said the puck touched his stick before going in the net, but after review, the call on the ice didn’t change. No goal.

You be the judge:

A different angle:

As the goal was being reviewed, Ovechkin appeared to be confident that the puck hit his stick before entering Sweden’s net.

After the game, he had this to say:

Although the Russians made things interesting, they’ll be disappointed by their overall performance.

Up until the final minute of play, they hadn’t created a ton of quality scoring chances.

Russia appeared to catch a break before the game even started, when Sweden’s starter Henrik Lundqvist was ruled out of the game because of the flu.

Lundqvist’s replacement, Jacob Markstrom, played a solid game, but wasn’t tested very much throughout the contest.

Just because Russia came out flat, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t give Sweden credit for their performance this afternoon. The Swedes played a strong, two-way game, which is exactly what most people expected from them.

Both of Sweden’s goals came in the second period, as Gabriel Landeskog and Victor Hedman scored just over two minutes apart.

To watch both of Sweden’s goals, click here.

Russia won’t have much time to think about this one. They’ll take on Team North America tomorrow night.

The Swedes have a date with Finland on Tuesday afternoon.