It's been two years since the last time playoff hockey was going on this time of year, and I can remember thinking at that time just how distraught I was with the level of play in the league, lack of parity, and all the denials about how much money certain teams really were losing.

            Now we have the new NHL, and it took a whole season lost for it to happen.  Certainly, the result of the lockout and subsequent implementation of the salary cap resulted in a redistribution of many of the league's entrenched veteran stars, such as Jaromir Jagr or Peter Forsberg, much to the chagrin of fans who thought some of these players would never play anywhere else.

            But the new deal is working.  We're only halfway through the first round of the first playoff season since the lockout, and so far, the overall level of play has been astounding.  The action is faster, there are fewer useless whistles, and more players seem willing to just shut up and play.  Teams are also more evenly matched.  The Colorado Avalanche were nearly 15 games above .500, and they got a seven seed.  In the past, one could sometimes expect a seven seed to give a two seed problems, but the games just weren't as intense, and eight seeds certainly stood no chance against the best team in each conference.  Even when lesser seeded teams did win, it was obvious that they were playing way above their heads.

            The Detroit Red Wings, part of that old Western guard of hockey teams that made the NHL utterly predictable and uninteresting to the casual fan each year, are floundering against the eight seed Edmonton Oilers, even though the Wings were the best in the West and seemingly poised for another Cup run.  Edmonton is loaded with scoring power compared to their eight seed counterparts in the past (Chris Pronger, Ryan Smyth, Michael Peca, just to name a few) as well as a surprisingly competent goalie (another eight seed rarity).  Are the Oilers just an anomaly?  Evidently not.

            Back East, the Carolina Hurricanes were picked by many in the media (paging ESPN) to blow by Montréal and possibly even end up in the finals.  After getting embarrassed in game one of the series, Carolina roared back to take the lead from down three goals in the second period of game two because of Montréal' s numerous penalties.  Even though the Habs should have been reeling after such a comeback, they instead showed the mental toughness of a championship team, tying the game and later winning in overtime.  The Hurricanes now trail 2-0 in the series.

            I've been paying close attention to both of the aforementioned series, and what I noticed most was that I could hardly tell the difference between the one or two seed and the seven or eight.  Edmonton and Montréal looked just as good, if not better than, Detroit and Carolina.  This is not merely two cases of teams playing above and beyond their abilities-this could be beginning of a new era of NFL-like parity in the NHL.  This is exactly what the financial minds of the league were trying to get the players union to realize during the lockout.  Revenue is more predictable when the games are less predictable.

            And what about the Dallas Stars?  You would think that series was a conference final or matchup of 4-5 seeds.  Instead, the Avalanche are the seven seed in the West, but easily look every bit as good as Dallas.

            Other rule changes have greatly contributed to making the game faster, and this is ironic due to the supposedly heavier enforcement of penalties.  Professional hockey right now is more intense and exciting than ever, even though this newfound (or rediscovered) appeal comes at the expense of some of hockey's most devoted fans in cities like Detroit.

            One could argue that Wings coach Mike Babcock is really no more than a mediocre talent who happened to be coaching a mediocre Anaheim team that just happened to have a hot playoff goalie (JS Giguere) when his team made that great playoff run a couple years back.  He certainly hasn't been able to adjust to the Oilers' style of play, and his team has looked progressively worse in each of the three games thus far.

            But coaching aside, the Red Wings are the most loaded team in the league when it comes to talent, and they certainly shouldn't be having any problems with Edmonton.  While it's true that hockey will never be as popular in the United States as the NFL or baseball, the NHL has taken some steps in the right direction, and is now reaping some success from the newfound balance of power throughout the league.  Anyone who's not watching right now is certainly missing something incredible.  And the people will come.