MOSCOW — After a week of turmoil for Olympic hockey, Russia believes it is poised to be the big winner at the 2018 Games in South Korea.
The country has waited more than 25 years for an Olympic gold medal, and its top league wants to fight the N.H.L. for international markets, so the absence of N.H.L. players from the Pyeongchang Games next February could be, well, a golden opportunity.