It has been two years since the NHL's re-start after a lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season.

Two years for team management to adapt to a salary cap.

Two years for players to adjust to an overhaul in rules and enforcement that emphasize skill over skulduggery.

Given that fairly generous time frame, perhaps an evaluation of the state of the league is in order.

Who better to weigh in than arguably the top hockey player in the world? Sidney Crosby is clear about his view.

"It's definitely going in the right direction, as long as they maintain the idea that they want to keep it skilled and high-paced and, as far as the calls, just making sure that they're made the same way," said the Penguins captain and reigning league scoring champion and MVP.

"You don't want to go back to before the lockout. As long as it's stressed and goes like that, I think we'll be fine. Hockey's hockey and there's only so much you can do to change it without actually changing it. I think it's a very traditional game, too, and you don't want to forget what's made it a great game for so long. There are things you can do to tweak it, but I think the NHL has done a great job so far."

Tweaking such as four relatively minor rules changes for the 2006-07 season.

"They've just kind of fine-tuned the [rules] package that was put in place a couple years ago," Detroit general manager Ken Holland said.

"I'd like to think that we're slowly finding the balance between adding more flow and more space for the skill players. At the same time, our fans love to see fighting. They love to see good, hard hits, competitive hockey."

There was concern in the initial months after the lockout, and perhaps considerably longer, that the NHL inadvertently gutted the physical nature of its game.

"I think you're seeing more hitting coming back into the game as opposed to post-lockout," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said. "They're realizing they can do that within the bounds of the rules -- which we're still working with.

"I think the great thing about our sport is the physical aspect of it plus the speed."

More immediate change came with payroll control under the revised collective bargaining agreement, and that has seemed to level the playing field.

"People used to say the regular season doesn't mean anything," Holland said. "I think now it's really hard to make the playoffs. Most nights, you're going to go to an NHL game during the regular season and it's almost like a playoff game. It's 3-2, 2-1, it's 4-1, tight checking, hard hitting.

"Everybody knows that come March and April, a point or two or three here or there could be the difference between making the playoffs, missing the playoffs, winning your division, not winning your division."

It's not just a casual observation.

With a week left in the regular season last spring, the six division titles, both conference titles and the Presidents' Trophy for top point total were undecided. When the dust settled, eight points separated the top 10 teams in the overall standings, and the ninth-place team in each conference, Toronto and Colorado, were one point behind the playoff cutoff.

Of the 1,230 regular-season games, 567, or 46.1 percent, were decided by one goal. Of those, 281, or 49.5 percent, went to overtime. And of those, 164, or 58.3 percent, went to a shootout.

"I think the league, with the new rules package, with free agency as it is right now, you just never know," Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren said. "I think it's very, very evenly balanced. Parity is here. It's probably here to stay."

Whether it's parity or the rules, fans have been coming out in droves since the end of the lockout.

After two seasons of record-breaking attendance, a record 250,000 tickets were sold Sept. 15 when single-game seats went on sale league-wide.

"I think the way the league is and the way the game is, it all boils down to the fans," said center Scott Gomez, who signed with the New York Rangers in the offseason. "I truly mean that. We're the ones that play this game, but, if [fans] want it, I think we give them what they want.

"One thing about our sport is that once people see a live hockey game, they're going to come back for more. It's just the way it is."

Outside of the arenas, the NHL isn't reaching as many fans as it no doubt would like.

On a national basis, people in the United States aren't watching the NHL on television, something many attribute to a switch of cable outlets from ESPN to the less available Versus, although NBC ratings for weekend games have been poor, and that network pulled out of a playoff game last spring for pre-race coverage of the Preakness.

"Would we like better ratings? Absolutely," Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger said. "Would we like to see more done? Absolutely.

"At the same time, we have to keep making strides and going in the right direction and make sure we are not only pushing the league but pushing ourselves to make sure guys are growing the game."

Although national TV in the United States has not captured fans' attention, many teams enjoy strong regional ratings. At the same time, league officials have moved to circumvent TV to reach out to fans, especially young, technology-wired fans, striking all sorts of deals to get new media involved.

The NHL has various partnerships with, among others, Akimbo, Amazon, Apple iTunes, Bell Mobility, Cinesport, Joost, Rogers Wireless, Sling Media, Sympatico, Verizon Wireless, Voxant, Yahoo, YouTube and Zip. It also is redesigning its Web site, nhl.com, with a bigger emphasis on video and NHL Center Ice Online, an out-of-market subscription package for live games.

"We try to make our game as accessible as possible," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

The league also is pushing to expand its presence with things such as Los Angeles and Anaheim opening the season in London, the Penguins playing in an outdoor game Jan. 1 at Buffalo and perhaps opening next season against Tampa Bay in Prague, Czech Republic. Bettman said about 30 percent of hits on nhl.com come from outside North America.

"We've got to look at extending our brand outside of New York, America, whenever we can," Anaheim general manager Brian Burke said. "I think these are all important steps for the league to maintain its brand and grow its brand worldwide."

In the meantime, the best marketing might be done on the ice. That's why Crosby likes the current version of the NHL just the way it is.

"If it's not broke, why fix it?" he said. "Why change a good thing?"