PRAGUE — Seconds into the third period, Alexander Ovechkin took control of a loose puck — one that had stopped in a pool of water. With three defensemen closing in, the Washington Capitals star backhanded a shot into the net for the game-winning goal. It's not the NHL, but as long as the lockout goes on, it's as close as there is. Ovechkin is one of the most recognizable names forced to head overseas by the NHL lockout, and he didn't have to think twice about where to find an opportunity to play. The offensive star simply returned to his former Russian team, Dynamo Moscow — the defending champion of the Kontinental Hockey League. “Home is home,” Ovechkin said during a road trip to Prague to face Lev Praha. “My family, friends, all people who wouldn't have a chance to see me can come to watch the games. Besides, I'm glad that I can repay my debt to Dynamo. It was the club that got me ready for the big hockey.” The NHL has already canceled the first two weeks of the regular season, wiping out 82 games from Thursday through Oct. 24. Labor negotiations with the players' association are ongoing in New York. In the meantime, the ambitious Russian-based KHL, which includes teams from other Eastern European countries, has clearly benefited from the availability of many top players. “The NHL is not working right now,” said Ovechkin, the 2008 and ‘09 NHL MVP. “So, the KHL is the best league.” Several other Russian NHL players must agree. Evgeni Malkin, a center with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the NHL's reigning MVP, is committed to his hometown team in Magnitogorsk, while New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk has been signed by SKA St. Petersburg. Zdeno Chara, a towering Boston Bruins defenseman, is another who just joined Lev Praha, a new KHL franchise based in the Czech capital. Prague is not unknown territory for Chara. He played for Sparta Prague's youth team before joining the Prince George Cougars in Canada's Western Hockey League in 1996, after he failed to make the Sparta roster. Two years ago, he opened the regular season in Prague with the Bruins in a double-header against the Phoenix Coyotes, and then went on to captain his team to win the Stanley Cup. The presence of some big names has not gone unnoticed, spurring fans to head to KHL arenas to see the best players on the planet. When Ovechkin's and Chara's teams met Tuesday in Prague, it was before a KHL record crowd of 16,317. — AP
