Looking for Bruins-'Canes? Good Luck ...

You've probably heard it by now, but this postseason (Wednesday night's epic fail by the Capitals aside) has been absolutely riveting, the type of postseason the good-press-hungry NHL needed. And the good press has come; people are noticing.

Still, there have been two stories undermining an otherwise success -- the league's TV exposure, and a ridiculously inconsistent disciplinary structure. The TV thing, though, is nothing new; people have ragged on Versus from the inception of the league's deal with them. The gripes are valid, even if the league's reports of ratings increases are meant to quell them. There are still fundamental flaws in the league's TV deal, as almost everyone interested in watching Thursday's Bruins-Hurricanes Game 7 will experience first-hand.

If you thought Versus was stretching the definition of "nationally televised," seeing as how it's non-existent in a good percentage of households, Boston and Carolina's ultimate game will be broadcast on the NHL Network. The NHLN is even more sparse across the national media market than Versus.

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It's not the first time this postseason that a game has been broadcast on NHLN (Game 5 between the Red Wings and Ducks also appeared there), but for a Game 7 to be relegated to such marginalization doesn't make the league's boasts seem any more grounded. It probably doesn't have to be said, but I'll say it anyway -- this would not happen in the nation's top three pro leagues.

Because despite what the league would have you believe, there's still trouble to be found. While it's true that ratings have gone up (along with ticket sales and overall revenue), there's still a long way to go. As TIME points out, Game 4 of the Capitals-Penguins series was just the 81st-ranked cable program that night, falling short of an episode of Batman on The Cartoon Network and a rerun of Reba on Lifetime. It probably doesn't have to be said, but I'll say it anyway -- this would not happen in the nation's top three pro leagues.

Those ratings will only suffer as games -- especially one's as big as Thursday's Bruins-Hurricanes tilt -- continue to be relegated to the netherworld of television. Criticize ESPN all you want, but the league needs its games to be shown there, even if they have to give them away for it to happen. If we've learned anything from this amazing postseason and the praise it's gotten from people outside the sport's following, it's that the product is good enough to win fans over ... if only they were better exposed to it.

While it hurts to abandon a source of prime revenue, as Versus is paying for games where ESPN may not, the long-term gains might be far greater, as the league would attract fans on ESPN and hope they begin to buy tickets and merchandise later. The current method is just short-sighted.

But forget attracting new fans for now. The immediate issue is that the league's current fans -- the loyal ones who spend money and passion on the sport in the face of ridicule -- won't be able to watch what should be a thrilling Game 7. Coming soon to a Google Trends near you: bruins hurricanes live stream.