text: He shoots, he scores! Putin takes to the ice rink to show off his hockey skills (but it doesn't look like there was much opposition) 
   
   Russian president took to the ice at All-Russia Festival of Night Hockey League in Sochi wearing number 11 shirt 
   
   
   
   He missed several goals - and sporting celebrities nudged in the puck for him instead - until he finally scored 
   
   Putin often does macho publicity stunts and has shot a whale, hugged a polar bear and ridden a horse topless 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   He's the president who has ridden a horse topless, hugged a polar bear and 'found' (fake) Greek vases while scuba-diving. 
   
   Now Vladimir Putin is at it again - playing ice hockey with sporting legends in front of thousands of apparently adoring fans. 
   
   But the Russian premier, 61, was not without a little help - he missed several goals by a whisker, leaving his celebrity teammates to give the puck a gentle nudge in the right direction, before finally hitting home on his own. 
   
   Scroll down for video 
   
   
   
   Sports star: Vladimir Putin triumphed in a game of ice hockey in Sochi 
   
   First attempt: The Russian president takes a shot at the goal (left) – but it bounces away. A team-mate to the left of the net (right), catches the rebounding puck and taps it into the goal. Putin is said to have scored five assists 
   
   
   
   Bold attempt: On his next attack (left), Putin flicks the puck towards the net… but he puck clatters against the crossbar of the goal (right) without going in 
   
   
   
   Deadly approach: Putin flies down the middle of the rink (left), and takes another shot at goal - and scores when the puck smashes into the back of the net (right) 
   
   
   
   Sporting the number 11 jersey, Putin returned to the Winter Olympics host city of Sochi today for the All-Russia Festival of Night Hockey League. 
   
   Joining the 'NHL Stars' team, the premier took a break from crisis talks with the West about his annexing of Crimea to play alongside retired former Soviet hockey legends, including Vyacheslav Fetisov and Pavel Bure. 
   
   At least two of his team-mates were Olympic medal winners, including Aleksey Kasatonov, who won two golds for the Soviet Union in 1984 and 1988, and Valery Kamensky, who also took gold in 1988. 
   
   His opponents, meanwhile, were reportedly amateurs. 
   
   
   
   Even so, the 62-year-old premier's teammates were apparently eager to help him. In at least two attempts, Putin just missed the goal, but the puck went in after a gentle tap from another player. 
   
   And in one sequence, shown on the state-linked English-language channel RT, the premier eventually scored, to the delight of the crowd. 
   
   
   
   Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and the head of Tatarstan Republic, Rustam Minnikhanov, were both at the festival for the league, which was created in December 2011. 
   
   
   
   It began as a casual event for over-40s but has grown and this year was attended by 108 teams including from 11 other countries. 
   
   
   
   Putin took part in a gala match between amateur hockey players in a successful games for the Russians - who topped the table ahead of Norway, Canada and the USA with 33 medals. 
   
   Sadly for Putin, however, his side was knocked out by Finland at the quarter-final stage. 
   
   But the upbeat president reportedly told the crowd: 'There are no winners or losers here. This is a friendly game. 
   
   'It’s a show and everyone enjoyed it. All this [the Night Hockey League] was invented to give an additional boost to the development of sports and physical culture.' 
   
   Victorious: A proud-looking Putin bumps fists with his amateur rivals 
   
   Adoration: He was also seen shaking hands with ecstatic members of the crowd 
   
   According to state broadcaster The Voice of Russia, the President 'netted six goals and five assists'. 
   
   The bold claims are, as yet, not fully confirmed. 
   
   It is the latest in a long line of macho publicity stunts by the Russian president, who last took to the ice in January, shortly before the Winter Olympics in Sochi. 
   
   On a horse: The Russian president was pictured in this macho pose while travelling the Siberian mountains in 2007 
   
   Stunts: Putin has also been seen plucking (fake) ancient vases from the deeps (left in 2011) and presiding over a tranquilised polar bear (right in 2010) 
   
   
   
   He has previously cuddled a tame snow leopard and a tranquilised polar bear, and shot harmless crossbow darts at a whale as part of scientific research. 
   
   One more bizarre report last year suggested he was inviting the boy band Boyz II Men to a Moscow gig - to boost the country's birth rate. 
   
   
   
   And in 2011, a spokesman was forced to admit that a scuba-diving exhibition in which he 'found' the remarkably intact remains of two 1,500-year-old Greek vases was staged. ||||| Most Popular Speed Reads 
   
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target: – What's a newly divorced Russian strongman to do when most of the world wants to throttle him and he's getting no respect from his own supporters? Play a little hockey, that's what. And pretty badly, reports the Week in a look at Vladimir Putin's foray onto the ice yesterday at something called the "All-Russia Festival of Amateur Teams of the Night Hockey League" in Sochi. Even with a less-than-motivated opposition goalie and near-assists from NHL players, Putin choked several times. Yet somehow, reports the Daily Mail via the Voice of Russia, Putin managed to score six times and had five assists. Despite his, er, heroics, Putin's team eventually lost, but no hard feelings, says the president: "There are no winners or losers here. This is a friendly game." Click for the Week's GIF of Putin attempting to put his helmet on—backward.