Vladimir Putin Plays Epic Hockey Game, Has 6 Goals And 5 Assists (Video)

– Vladimir Putin Plays Epic Hockey Game, Has 6 Goals And 5 Assists (Huffington Post, May 12, 2014):

One of Russia’s leading newscasts was interrupted Saturday night with reports on President Vladimir Putin’s latest attempt to subdue his enemies and assert his dominance.

But this time, it was on a hockey rink in Sochi.

Wearing a red (of course) jersey bearing the number 11, the Russian president led a team of hockey stars — including several former NHL players — to a 21-4 victory, with Putin himself getting 6 goals, according to reports.

His first goal came just 4 minutes into the game. And to show he’s a good teammate, he also had 5 assists.

“Vladimir Vladimirovich has set himself the goal of playing hockey. Several years ago he said: ‘I will do it!’ Now you can see the result — 6 goals,” former NHL hockey star and teammate Pavel Bure told ITAR-TASS. “One needs all the skillfulness to score so many times. That the president of the world’s largest country with a busy schedule has learnt to play ice hockey and found time for that is an indication of his excellent shape.”

While hockey is a notoriously physical sport, no one so much as laid a finger on the Russian president during the match, at least in the clips released online.

But can you really blame them? They probably don’t want to end up like this tiger, this fish or this guy unlucky enough to have to fight him in judo.

“There are no winners or losers here,” the 61-year-old president was quoted as saying. “This is a friendly game. It’s a show and everyone enjoyed it.”

Putin has been known for his action stunts — including martial arts, horseback riding, hang-gliding, flying a fighter jet and more. See a few of his classic macho moments in the gallery below.