What we learned in the NHL last week: Stability (and scoring) is on the rise — for now

What we learned from the last week of play in the NHL:

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THE BIG PICTURE IS GOOD

There will always be arena or attendance issues somewhere, and yes, clouds are hovering on the labor front because the league and the NHL Players' Association have the right to opt out of the current labor agreement and end it in 2020. Players are unhappy about losing big chunks of their salaries to escrow - money deducted to ensure a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenues after accounting - and they want to return to the Olympics, but owners are happy with what Commissioner Gary Bettman said