The Kontinental Hockey League canceled two regular-season games at Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Barclays Center that were scheduled for January, according to RT.com. The games scheduled for Jan. 19-20 would have featured Gagarin Cup holders Dynamo Moscow and the big-spending SKA St. Petersburg. The KHL altered its decision, saying that "the ongoing NHL lockout made it difficult to host the games." The KHL said on its website: "Meeting the wishes of thousands of Russian hockey fans, considering the interests of the teams Dynamo Moscow and SKA and due to the lack of certainty with the NHL lockout length, the KHL decided to change the dates of games between the teams scheduled for January 19 and 20." The "revised schedule now says that Dynamo will travel to St. Petersburg on Jan. 20 and host SKA in Moscow two days later" (RT.com, 10/27). QMI AGENCY noted the reason for the cancelation "wasn't clear." It would seem that "if the NHL was still in lockout mode, the games in Brooklyn would have provided the KHL with a big boost in visibility and media coverage" (QMI AGENCY, 10/27). YAHOO! SPORTS' Nicholas Cotsonika wrote in "many ways, the vast majority of European players would rather be playing in the NHL than the KHL or anywhere else right now." They are "just visiting these leagues." But there also is a "reason a few European players have threatened to stay home if the NHL cuts their pay dramatically." In North America, they "feel like visitors culturally, and the NHL's advantage as a league, while still large, isn't quite as large as it used to be." Senators D Sergei Gonchar said, "Playing over here, it's much more enjoyable now than it was. To be honest with you, I'm enjoying it here. For me, it goes either way (if the entire NHL season is canceled). I like it here. I enjoy my teammates. We have a great team. So I don't care" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/27).
