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Sedin twins star for Sweden at World Hockey Championships

By Kevin Stevens SportsTicker Contributing Editor

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Buffalo Sabres teammates Vladimir Tsyplakov and Miroslav Satan led their respective countries to opening day wins today at the World Hockey Championships.

Tsyplakov and Oleg Khmyl each scored twice as Belarus dumped the Ukraine, 7-3, in a battle of former Soviet republics, while Satan added the insurance marker as Slovakia struggled to a 2-0 win over Austria.

Khmyl opened the scoring with a power-play goal 3:50 into the first period and tallied again seven minutes later to stake Belarus to an early 2-0 lead.

Tsyplakov, who found the net six times for the Sabres after being traded from the Los Angeles Kings, nailed down the win, scoring the final two goals.

In between, Dmitri Starostenko, Andrei Kovalev and Aleksandr Andreivsky -- on a shorthanded effort -- also found the net for Belarus. Boris Protsenko and St. John's Maple Leaf teammates Konstantin Kalmikov and Dmitri Yakushin answered for the Ukraine.

In another Group A match, the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, showed why they were two of the top picks in last year's NHL draft, collecting two points apiece in Sweden's 3-1 win over Latvia.

Kristian Gahn, Kristian Huselius and Daniel Sedin scored for the Swedes, while Henrik Sedin had a pair of assists. Aleksandrs Belavskis scored for Latvia, ruining Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tommy Salo's shutout bid with 21 seconds left in the second period.

Salo, the World Championship All-Star netminder the last three years, staked his claim for a fourth straight honor with 30 saves.

Across town, Slovakia and Austria battled through two scoreless periods before Peter Pucher settled the issue 6:31 into the third, poking home a loose puck in the crease. The outcome remained in doubt until Satan, who led the Sabres in goal-scoring this season with 33, tallied with 92 seconds to play.

Pavol Rybar was rock solid in the Slovakian net, stopping all 21 shots, but was outplayed by his Austrian counterpart Reinhard Divis, who made 43 saves.

Ari Sulander also recorded a shutout but was hardly tested, facing only 10 shots as Finland routed Italy, 6-0.

The Finns got goals from six different players as Los Angeles Kings teammates Aki Berg, Jere Karalathi and Marko Tuomainen scored along with Juha Lind of the Montreal Canadiens, Niko Kapanen and former NHL All-Star Esa Tikkanen. 1