… is the lack of clutching, grabbing and interfering with players that don’t have the puck. The NHL has vowed a zero tolerance policy on interference and thus far, they have backed that up. There is some grumbling that five-on-five play has virtually disappeared but, for the most part, fans are loving the new skating room that has been created.

On opening night, an average of 6.33 goals per game were scored. That is up about a goal over the average game during the 2003-04 season. One goal may not seem like much but, in reality, it is very significant. Scoring has increased nearly 20%.

During the 2003-04 season there were 194 shutouts recorded in the NHL. That is a shutout ratio of 7.89 % (194 shutouts of a possible 2460). After the first four days of the 2005-06 season, we have a shutout ratio of 4.05 % (3 shutouts of a possible 74). Shutouts have been sliced in half by the new rules and smaller goalie equipment.

I am not saying that defensive hockey is bad or that shutouts make for boring hockey. Many defensive games are quite exciting and very entertaining. What I am saying is that the NHL had slid too far into a defensive style and with it had gotten away from entertaining hockey.

Allowing players to clutch and grab opponents, simply slowed down the speedy, talented skaters in the game and made marginal NHLers much more valuable. The interference has always been against NHL rules, but the league’s officiating crew decided to let it go as "legitimate" defensive play. This was largely responsible for killing the entertainment value in NHL arenas.

Goaltending equipment had gotten way out of control, as well. In the high-scoring heyday of the ‘80s, goaltender equipment was much smaller. Leg pads were not permitted to exceed 10" in width and the egregious "cheaters" attached to catching gloves and jerseys had not yet come into vogue.

In the ‘80s, a skilled sniper like Mike Bossy or Jari Kurri could bury a shot from the top of the circle and beyond. In the NHL of the 21st century, scoring from that range was nearly an impossible task and, the only real reason to shoot from there was the expectation of a rebound that could be tapped in by a teammate.

Scanning the highlights of the first few days of NHL action this year, I have seen a significant number of goals scored from the top of the circle. Goalies are no longer the "brick wall" that they used to be. The sniper has been reinvented.

Many have been worried that the crackdown on interference would eliminate the physicality of the game. That has not happened. The physical aspects of hockey have changed but they still exist.

Now, we are seeing great open ice hitting and real positional play by defenders. In the past, defending simply meant holding or tying up the opposition with your stick. Battles in front of the net have become very different but they still do exist. The defender must wait until the puck comes into the slot before he can aggressively move an opponent.

Physical hockey has not disappeared; it has just become more pure.

These two major areas of on-ice change, combined with the new economic parity in the NHL have created a much more exciting league. NHL message boards are littered with comments like: "Isn’t the new NHL great?" and "How’s that for entertaining hockey?"

Contrary to the worst fears of many, the fans have flocked back to NHL arenas. As expected, every game on Canadian soil has sold out but the crowds in non-traditional hockey markets have been very impressive as well. So far this season we have seen:

* 18,759 fans at Philips Arena in Atlanta to see the Thrashers take on the Capitals at the same time the Braves were on TV in a playoff game against Houston.

* 17,799 at Glendale Arena to see the Phoenix Coyotes host Minnesota

* 18,532 filled the American Airlines Center in Dallas to see the Stars tangle with the Colorado Avalanche

* 20,933 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa to see the Lightning take on the Panthers, the night after the two teams met in Miami, in front of 18,512 fans at the Bank Atlantic Center.

Even in the two most criticized markets, Carolina and Nashville, we saw excellent crowds. 18,787 showed up at the RBC Center in Raleigh on Friday night, while 16,279 witnessed the Nashville Predators beat Anaheim on Saturday. "CBA hangover" apparently has not hit the NHL like it did Major League Baseball after their 1994 labor dispute.

The NHL appears to have done everything right after being the only major professional sport in North America to have lost an entire season to a labor dispute. The fans love the new product, there are some great new stars to watch and tickets are being sold in every city.

The NHL has been resurrected and hockey fans are loving every minute of it.