LOS ANGELES -- It's Super Bowl weekend and the NHL is staging its All-Star game.

Some might consider it bad timing for hockey, which has long played fourth-fiddle behind the NFL, NBA and major league baseball in popularity among American sports fans.

But NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday that the league has seen no impact from bumping up against football's championship game.

"A lot of people are going to be home this weekend and watching television in anticipation of the Super Bowl, maybe that'll be a plus," he said. "If we get a good rating, maybe we'll do this every year."

The NFL moved the Super Bowl to Sunday in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Unlike the past couple of years, when the All-Star game was played on Sunday, the sold-out game is Saturday at Staples Center.

"I can count on one hand the number of guests that we may have lost," Bettman said. "As long as we're not going head-to-head on television. We were either very smart or very lucky, but we'd always planned to do this game on Saturday."

Bettman said he's pleased with the state of the NHL halfway through the season, despite a softening economy and tight competition for the entertainment dollar.

For the first time in recent years, there was no expansion, no rule changes and the two-referee system is in place for the second full season.

"We think it's been a good season," he said. "Almost all teams are in the hunt."

Bettman cited a 1 percent increase, or 16,539 fans, in average attendance through 809 games over last year's record of 16,369; the signing of two new sponsors and renewal of all other sponsors.

He said the per-game attendance in November (16,490), December (16,578) and January (16,750) was the highest in NHL history for those months.

"The challenge for the future is making sure that we have an economic system that enables all of our clubs to be economically viable, stable and competitive where they're currently located," he said.

"All of our fans need to know at the start of the season that their team has as good a chance of winning the Stanley Cup as any other team. It can't be based solely on how much teams spend on payroll."

Bettman also said he asked the Board of Governors on Friday about changing the Stanley Cup final to a 2-3-2 format, allowing the team with the best record the option of playing the three middle games at home rather than on the road.

"There seems to be some interest in pursuing this," he said, "but we're not there yet. It needs some more discussion, but the preliminary indication is that it's something we should look at and it's something we will be looking at."

The NBA and major league baseball follow the 2-3-2 format for their championship series. Bettman said the benefits include less travel for players and media, and more time to plan.

Bettman also said: