from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

These two sides desperately want to make a deal.

That much is clear after a second day of marathon meetings, because things nearly blew up Wednesday evening but the NHL and NHLPA did not take their toys and go home. Instead, they turned the other cheek, persevered and kept at it until nearly 1 a.m. ET Thursday.

And talk they did, in serious, serious form. One source in the room felt the sides could be close to a deal, though another also from the room said it would easily still fall apart when talks resume Thursday.

Everyone I spoke with agreed on one thing in the early hours of Thursday morning: Things remain at a very delicate stage.

There were some key moves on the league’s side in an attempt to bridge the gap:

continued