It's not the NHL's fault. Really. The product is pretty good if you give it a chance. I will be the first to admit that playoff hockey is far more exciting than playoff basketball, yet I'm not watching it. And therein lies the problem. No one is watching. No one.

And by no one, I mean "more people would admit to watching the XFL." The New Jersey Devils - Carolina Hurricanes game on NBC this past Saturday drew a 1.0 rating (approximately 1.1 million viewers). By comparison, the same number of people tuned in to watch Mi Hyun Kim (and that would be... who?) win the inaugural LPGA Ginn Clubs and Resorts Open. 1.35 million watched the NCAA women's gymnastics championships. And 9.9 million people tuned in to watch David Blaine NOT break a world record for holding his breath. To lift a page out of Michael Jackson's quote book: David Blaine - I believe in you. Your magic is real... but there's no way that many people should have watched you attempt something that I can try in my bathtub.

The eternal question beckons us once again: why? Sure, you could attribute the poor numbers to the fact that the league blew away an entire season last year, but hockey ratings weren't exactly challenging American Idol for the Nielsen crown even before the lockout. But truth be told, it's probably extremely difficult to build up excitement for the playoffs when your national television contract is with a channel (the Outdoor Life Network) that most people couldn't find without the menu button on their remotes.

Some people may argue that there's a lack of star power, which may play some sort of a role. But if Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Peter Forsberg, how many more dozens of fans would tune in? Whatever the case may be, I'd rather watch two random guys fire up an old Sega Genesis and play a game of NHLPA '93.

It's not going to get any better for the National Hockey League, either. The top four teams in the Western Conference all got bounced in the first round of the playoffs, and both the Rangers and the Flyers met the same fate - talented teams in two of the nation's largest media markets. And if the conference semifinals continue the way they're going now, the conference finals are going to pit San Jose versus Anaheim and Buffalo against Carolina. I don't know about you, but my pulse is racing at the mere thought.

It's almost sad in a way. Playoff hockey is incredibly fun to watch (and even more incredible to attend), yet the NHL is pulling ratings on par with the Arena League. Over the next few weeks, careers will be made, spirits will be broken and goalies will figuratively stand on their heads, but when the signal is beamed out to televisions across the nation, there will be no one on the other end.