Confirming news that has been floating around for a bit, the Carolina Hurricanes are now officially scheduled to play an exhibition game in St. Petersburg, Russia on October 4, 2010. They will face SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.  This will be the first time in 20 years that the NHL has played in Russia.

The Canes open their regular season in Helsinki,  Finland with games on October 6 and 7 against the Minnesota Wild.

More details from the team after the jump.

The Phoenix Coyotes will also play an exhibition game against a KHL opponent, facing Dinamo Riga at Arena Riga in Riga, Latvia, on Wednesday, Oct. 6. This marks the first time in 20 years that the NHL returns to Russia or Latvia for exhibition games. In September 1989, the Washington Capitals and Calgary Flames conducted a pre-season tour of the Soviet Union which included four games against Soviet National League clubs. Games were played in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and Riga. The NHL clubs finished with a combined 6-2 record against the top Soviet teams, including the Red Army club and Dynamo Moscow. 

In Sept. 1990, the Montreal Canadiens joined the Minnesota North Stars in traveling to the Soviet Union for the "Friendship Tour 90." Again, games were played in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and Riga, and again they were enthusiastically greeted by the Soviet public. However, this time the Soviet National League teams proved to be stronger, finishing with a 5-3 record against their NHL counterparts. 

More from CH.com here.