NHL, NHLPA meet for third straight day

New York, NY – The NHL and NHLPA had a five-hour meeting on Thursday as the two sides are still working to end a lockout that has lasted almost two months.

The two sides met for several hours on Tuesday and Wednesday with Thursday's meeting being the fourth one in the past six days.

Once again, neither side has released details of what was discussed, but did say that they will meet again on Friday.

"We've met with the Players' Association for the last three days and we are planning on meeting again [Friday]," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "But, I am not going to discuss the negotiations or the substance of what we're talking about. I really don't think that would be helpful to the process."

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr added: "We (have) had meetings the last couple of days and this afternoon. There have been discussions over a wide range of topics. We're recessed for the night and we will be getting back together [Friday], the exact time is not yet certain. But I do expect we'll be getting back together [Friday]. I am not going to comment on the substance of the discussions."

Regular season games have been canceled through Nov. 30, along with the Winter Classic contest that was supposed to be held on New Year's Day in Ann Arbor between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings.

The two sides have been without a CBA since the previous one expired just before midnight on Sept. 15.