Canada did everything by the book at the Sochi Olympics, winning all six games with a ferocious commitment to defense and discipline. When Canada's captain finally got his first goal of the games Sunday, it had none of the dramatics of Crosby's last Olympic goal four years ago in Vancouver.

But it was every bit as golden.

Jonathan Toews scored in the first period, Carey Price made 24 saves in his second consecutive shutout, and Canada defended its Olympic men's hockey title with a 3-0 victory over Sweden.

"We're just an amazing team to watch, the way we work together," Toews said. "We were just all over them. It's fun to be a part of."

Chris Kunitz also scored as the Canadians confirmed their worldwide dominance in their national game by winning the gold for the third time in the last four Olympics. No team in the NHL era has controlled a tournament like this group, which allowed just three goals in six games and never trailed at any point in the 12-day tournament on the shores of the Black Sea.

"Not quite as dramatic as the other one," Crosby said. "Just real solid all the way through. We knew the way we wanted to play, and the last couple of games, we were solid. With each game, we seemed to build more and more confidence."

By the final event of the Sochi Olympics, that confidence was unshakable. Canada became the only repeat Olympic champ in the NHL era and the first team to go unbeaten through the Olympic tournament since the Soviet Union in Sarajevo in 1984.

Canada won its record ninth Olympic hockey gold medal — its first outside North America since 1952 — and joined the women's team to complete Canada's second straight Olympic hockey sweep.

The Canadians didn't allow a goal in their final 164-plus minutes at the Bolshoy Ice Dome after the first period of the quarterfinals against Latvia, shutting out the U.S. and Sweden.

Steve Yzerman, the architect of this roster for Hockey Canada, called it the greatest display of defensive hockey by any Canadian national team. Yzerman also said he's stepping down as Canada's Olympic executive director.

The Swedes also were unbeaten until the final, but they couldn't compete with Canada's formidable defense and Price, a first-time gold medalist who played splendidly in Sochi, allowing three goals in five games.

"That was the hardest-working team I've ever seen," Price said. "I really can't say enough about that group of defensemen and that overall team in front of me. Our work ethic was what won us this championship."

The Canadians exchanged hugs and leaped over the boards at the final horn, gathering at Price's net for a celebration that had seemed inevitable since Crosby scored in the second period.


CANADA CELEBRATES


Hockey-crazed Canadians from coast to coast thought nothing of an early morning start and streamed into bars on Sunday to watch and celebrate Team Canada capturing Olympic gold.

Mayor Rob Ford was among the die-hard crowd at the Real Sports bar in downtown Toronto which exploded in an ear-splitting roar as Canada topped Sweden 3-0 to win its second consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's hockey.

Beer — which began flowing when the puck dropped thanks to relaxed liquor rules — was tossed into the air from red hockey-boot mugs, while revelers mounted chairs and tables in unbridled joy as red-and-white streamers fluttered down on them.

Ford briefly pulled many eyes away from the jumbo screen as he posed for photos with fans.

"This is what Canada's all about — it's hockey right? When people say how do you define Canada, I say, wait until there's a hockey game," said the embattled mayor who is a big sports fan.

Superfan Mike Berks knew what to wear for the big game — a hockey helmet mounted with a working red goal light — and thought nothing of getting up well before sunrise for the gold-medal contest.

"This is our team, this is what we live, this is what we breathe, this is what we do — 4:30 in the morning is nothing to watch this," he said as fans decked out in red-and-white jerseys hooted and hollered around the bar.

"There's no doubt that Canada's the No. 1 hockey team in the world. This is it, Canada's No. 1."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper honored the hockey heroes.

"Today's exciting victory by this exceptional group of players has demonstrated once again that hockey truly is Canada's game," he said in a statement.


BACKSTROM FAILS TEST


Sweden center Nicklas Backstrom watched from the athletes village as his teammates lost to Canada in the Olympic hockey gold-medal game because he failed a doping test for a substance found in an allergy medication.

"I was ready to play the biggest game of my career," Backstrom said Sunday after the Canadians beat the Swedes 3-0. "And two and a half hours before the game, I got pulled aside."

Backstrom paused, choked with emotion and appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"It's sad," he said.

The Swedish hockey team, meanwhile, was simply mad at the International Olympic Committee.

"We are all very upset," said Tommy Boustedt, the team's general manager. "Our opinion is that IOC has destroyed one of the greatest hockey days in Swedish history."

Boustedt lashed out at the IOC about the timing of its decision, saying it was "political" because it would make news.

The governing body refused to fire back.

"We will not comment on any potential process until it has concluded," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.

The International Ice Hockey Federation is taking the silver medal that would have been given to Backstrom in the postgame ceremony to its offices in Zurich while it waits for the IOC to decide whether it can be sent to Backstrom, according to IIHF spokesman Adam Steiss.

Backstrom was punished more than another player was in the same situation four years ago.

While playing for Slovakia at the 2010 Olympics, defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky tested positive for the same banned substance — pseudoephedrine — and was only reprimanded by the IOC because it said he declared on his doping control form that he was taking the medication.

Backstrom, likewise, said he hasn't hid the fact that he takes the substance that is banned by the IOC during competition and was told by his Olympic team doctor he could take one pill a day without possible penalty.

He was tested on Wednesday after helping the Swedes beat Slovenia in the quarterfinals. He was pulled out of Sweden's locker room four days later, just two-plus hours before the Sochi Games finale, and was informed he couldn't play.

Contributor: The Associated Press