Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve — no puck will hit the ice on Thursday on what would have been the opening day of the regular NHL season.

Though it has been a week since the NHL scrapped two weeks of its regular season, fans may — or may not — feel hockey heartache.

In all, 82 games were cancelled between Oct. 11 and Oct. 24. Four were scheduled to kick off the 2012-13 season on Thursday, including Ottawa at Montreal. The Toronto Maple Leafs were to play on Saturday.

But according to Sportsnet 590 The Fan‘s Jim Lang, fans may not be feeling the sting of the lockout as they did in 2004.

“People are like ‘we’re doing this again? Just tell me when it’s over and I’ll turn on the NHL again,’” he said.

The NHL and the players’ association met Wednesday for talks in an effort to work out a deal to end the lockout.

They return to the bargaining table on Thursday.