2012 IIHF World Championship
The 2012 IIHF World Championship was the 76th IIHF World Championship, an annual international ice hockey tournament. It took place between 4–20 May 2012 in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. This tournament determined the countries' seeding for the men's Olympic Ice Hockey tournament in Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics, and for all countries participating in the qualification program leading up to the Olympics.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | Finland Sweden |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Dates | 4–20 May |
| Opened by | Sauli Niinistö and Carl XVI Gustaf |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Russia (4th title) |
| Runner-up | Slovakia |
| Third place | Czech Republic |
| Fourth place | Finland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 64 |
| Goals scored | 376 (5.88 per game) |
| Attendance | 451,054 (7,048 per game) |
| Scoring leader(s) | Evgeni Malkin (19 points) |
| MVP | Evgeni Malkin |
Russia won the tournament by defeating Slovakia 6–2 in the Final game; the Russians finished the tournament undefeated with a record of 10–0–0, becoming the first team to win every game in regulation since the Soviet Union in the 1989 World Championships. The Czech Republic captured the bronze medal by defeating co-host Finland 3–2 in the bronze medal game. The tournament's top scorer, Russia's Evgeni Malkin, was named the most valuable player of the tournament.