Coming to you live in HD, it's hockey!

The NHL season is done, and congrats to the Penguins on winning the Cup, they sure looked dead in February.

But the NHL has one big thing going for it as we move forward and I think the ratings from the Stanley Cup finals reflect that.

Game 7, the best drama in all of sports, was the highest rated hockey game in thirty-six years. 

There's a few reasons for that other than the point I'm about to make.

You had people tuning in to see Sidney Crosby. Sid the Kid is not even the best player on his own team but the young superstar has been hyped up so much that he is as must-see as anyone not named Ovechkin can be in this league. 

Tack on the rematch factor, the history of these two teams and of course the intrigue of a Game 7 and you have a ratings bonanza.

But there's one other big thing at work here and that's the HD effect.

There is no better live sport than hockey. Being in a cold, raucous arena where the hits are hard, the skaters are fast and the intensity is just awesome.

Never before could that be captured on TV and as my buddy Chad pointed out the puck is black, and much smaller than the focus of attention in other sports like basketball and football.

After the lock-out, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took more money but far less exposure when he signed with Versus to broadcast his suddenly-floundering league.

It was an awful decision and the NHL has paid dearly for it. But HD can change all of that.

Finally, the TV can capture a lot of what going to the arena is all about and the action unfolding on the ice becomes that much clearer. 

No more squinting for the puck, waiting for the red light to tell you if a goal was scored or comet-style graphic that FOX employed some years back that gave the puck an illuminated tail to try and help the viewer to know where it was.

With more cameras in the arena and an ever crisper picture, hockey should re-slot itself as the fourth biggest sport in the American landscape and could once again push the NBA for third. 

While everything looks better in HD, the difference it makes when it comes to hockey, is much more significant and could make up the gap between fringe spectacle and mainstream mainstay.

Arena attendance is good. Fans love to pack the rink to see the games. With hockey in HD they can pack the living rooms too and be treated to a show almost as good.