Sunday, 06 January 2013 19:56

Written by Dave Molinari

The NHL still hasn't decided whether the season that will start next week should include 48 or 50 games.

That matters a great deal on some levels -- like for the revenue every team would generate with an extra home game -- but on a very important one, it does not.

Regardless of whether the league shoehorns in a couple of extra games, the season is sure to be a dash to the postseason, not a marathon to be survived.

"It's going to be fast and furious, great for fans," defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "Each game has that much more meaning. Players will be more fatigued probably, but everyone will adjust."

The compressed schedule the league will play, with an average of about one game every two days, can be demanding, but left winger Matt Cooke doesn't think that necessarily will be a problem.

"That's what you do in the playoffs," he said. "If they can make it work, to play every other day is the best-case scenario because you always have that day in between to recover."