Gee....I don't know.....I already feel like forgiving everybody and booking it to A Flames game and a Jets game some time quick....guess I'm a junkie. I was just kidding myself that I could stay away! Please forgive me!

Reality check:
 

The long time die-hard fans with the offical team jersey on their backs will come back
(disclosure: I have a Bruins jersey SmileWavy ).
The ones that were new to the sport (or possible future fans) may just say forgetaboutit.
This lockout will probably hurt worse than the last one since:
-Some folks will say "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me".
-There was much more bad press about it this time around. Too much dirty laundry aired in public.
-When money if plentiful people don't think about spending again but since the economy isn't as strong people will think longer about whether it is worth jumping back in. They may not have canceled tickets but "now that the fun of the game has been ruined maybe we need to cut back..."

I think the die hard fan will always come back, usually right away, and that's probably for all sports, the fan that drops the game probably would do the same thing eventually, a long losing streak, missing the playoff for 3 years and they're gone, thats a shame cause its such a great sport but the true fan will always be back right away. To us it really doesn't matter if its the players or the owners fault that there was a lock out, we just wanna watch hockey, hopefully the Canucks sweeping the Bruins in the final.
That last part was for Joe and the other members of da Bruins Nation.
Finn

It would be awesome if nobody showed up for the first games back in at least a couple cities. :)

That happened in Florida, Phoenix, NJ, and Dallas last season.

If nothing else, the coaches have their work cut out due to the compressed schedule (a game every other day or thereabouts) preparing their respective teams for the shortened season. This 48 or 50 game schedule could bring about injury & fatigue (consider the "Old Dudes") factors teams would be usually able handle or get through & survive during a regular campaign. I'm betting we're going to see a lot of inconsistent play (at the start) & some weird situations in which perennially good teams get hammered by some of the weakest. At this particular point in time, with no exhibition games & shortened almost non-existent training camps, the shooters are going to be far ahead of the netminders, never mind it takes a number of games especially for defensemen, to develop the so-called chemistry it takes to be an effective unit. I'd say there will be more than a few blown 3rd period leads. Game on!

Cheers
JB

The league is over-coached anyhow. God forbid they should play more exciting hockey....

And goalies rely on reflexes less and less. They do the butterfly and stay in position. No doubt they will be a bit slower. And suffering from sore groins in two months.

Bring it on.
That happened in Atlanta for a couple years so they moved...

The schedule is posted. NHL Hockey Schedule for January 19, 2013 to January 26, 2013 - NHL.com - Schedule
Opening day: this Saturday.
Philly and Pittsburg -or- Chicago and LA on NBC.

The Bruins will host the Rangers in Beantown but I'll have to settle for radio.
Go Bruins