There has been mostly bad news for the NHL this season, with low ratings for regular-season games, a disappointing all-star game, and threats of a post-season lockout becoming more and more real.
 But here’s a bit of good news, finally.
 Heading into the Stanley Cup semifinals this weekend, the NHL playoffs have actually perked up a bit compared with last year. And that may be a ratings boost predictor for the finals.
   Granted, even a big uptick in hockey ratings barely brings them to the level of, say, your average college basketball game. But with the NHL negotiating not only a new bargaining agreement with its players but also a new contract with carrier ABC/ESPN, every little boost counts.
   Through Tuesday, NHL playoff games on ESPN were up 11 percent over last year’s 0.45 average household rating to a 0.5 rating for five games. Among adults 18-49, ratings are up 3 percent.
  Even better, ESPN2’s average rating was up a considerable 28 percent for its first 10 games, from last year’s paltry 0.32 to a 0.41. The games are doing even better among 18-49s, where viewership is up 29 percent over last year.
  Ratings on ABC were up only slightly versus the regular season for its first round of playoff coverage last weekend. The games averaged a 1.6 household rating, just 0.2 rating points behind this year’s NHL All-Star Game.
  An early spike in ratings is important because this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs will need some momentum to carry them past last year’s all-time low ratings.
  Cup coverage on ESPN and ABC was down some 40 percent in 2003 from the previous year, including a 55 percent dip for the series’ first two games.
   The problem wasn’t the hockey; the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and New Jersey Devils played an exciting seven-game series. The problem was apparently lack of interest, which was reflected in those low ratings for the early rounds.
   With higher ratings this year, the NHL can hope that the interest will continue as the rounds go on.
  In other sports ratings news, final-day ratings for this year’s commercial-free Masters were down significantly from last year, and two-day ratings hit their lowest level since 1993 despite an exciting finish to the year’s first major.
  Sunday’s coverage averaged a 7.3 household rating, down 22 percent from last year’s 9.3 rating. During the final half-hour of the tournament, starting at 5:30 p.m., it averaged a 10.1 rating, down 19 percent from ratings for last year’s 12.4 for the final half-hour, which was actually a playoff hole.
   The two-day tournament averaged a 6.7 household rating, down 3 percent from last year’s 6.9.