301 days. That's how long it took for the NHL and the NHL Players Association to both come to their senses and come to grips with each other. After the longest work stoppage in the history of professional sports, questions arose from every angle and from nearly every facet of the game. Fans wondered if the game they loved would ever return to its glory days, as well as to its firm spot in the "Big Four" of professional sports. Owners, despite having planned for a lockout, worried about a lukewarm welcome from the fans once the game returned. Meanwhile, players just didn't want to get screwed in the settlement deal.

In the video game world, the NHL lockout posed problems both of a long-term and short-term nature. Short-term problems occurred because, while everyone knew the lockout would eventually end, few fans could say with 100 percent certainty that any hockey games would be released in 2005. Then there's the question of who would star on the cover, what the rosters would look like, and what, if any, new features would be added to games that would only be purchased by the hardest of hardcore fans in 2005. Was it even worth it, from a development standpoint, to put in a full development effort when the sport on which the game was based was shooting itself in the foot? The long-term issues were even uglier, and they echoed the sentiments of fans from all over: Would hockey return with a deal that meant fans wouldn't have to go through this rigmarole again in a decade? Moreover, would fans even miss the sport after almost a year's absence?

Hockey is back and with the new rules in place, goalies have a lot more to fear.

Nonetheless, with the 2004/2005 season behind us and most of the above questions put to rest with the NHL's regular season return in just a few days, it's time to put the past in the past, forget the future, and focus squarely on the present. There is some good news, after all. Not only are we days away from dropping the puck, but in the video game world, we actually have more hockey games to play than in recent years thanks to the appearance of Sony's Gretzky series, which started out on the PSP handheld and has now made the transition to the PlayStation 2. This is, of course, in addition to NHL06 from EA Sports and 2K Sports' NHL 2K6.

But with that expanded list of choices comes the need for some expanded discretion. After all, who can afford all those games? OK, we're not talking to you, rich boy. If you've got puck on the brain and a wallet that isn't lined with hundreds, we're here to break down all of this year's hockey games, including those that have already been released and those yet to come. We'll be going to the chalkboard on a number of different criteria for the games, including on- and off-the-ice play and, of course, the intangibles that can often make or break a game.

You're excited. We're excited. Hockey is back. Drop the puck, grab your stick, and let's hit the ice, because the game is on!