Vancouver 2010 hero Sidney Crosby scored Canada's second goal in the 3-0 win over Sweden in the Sochi final, giving his team gold for a second straight Winter Olympics.
(CNN) -- Television viewers around the world were treated to the grudge match of the Winter Olympics as the U.S. edged Russia in a thrilling ice hockey pool match in Sochi this month.
Even for those not familiar with the rules, the sheer drama of the sporting contest was gripping and it made for compulsive viewing.
It's not the only time this year that ice hockey has made for a stunning spectacle and generated huge interest.
In North America -- ahead of Sochi's start -- the NHL went on a big marketing blitz, with outdoor matches in massive stadiums previously used for other sports.
Some 106,000 hardy souls braved brutal subzero temperatures at the Winter Classic in Michigan on New Year's Day and over 8.2 million watched the telecast.
Read: Superpower showdown on ice
"We want to give our fans the most remarkable two months in the history of the league," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced after the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in the annual showdown.
European teams performed strongly in Russia, and Finland celebrated a well-deserved bronze after beating the United States 5-0 in the third and fourth place playoff.
Both ice hockey tournaments in Sochi provided plenty of drama. Canada won the eight-nation women's event with a 3-2 overtime victory over the United States.
Host Russia carried the hopes of a nation with a mix of NHL stars such as Alexander Ovechkin and products of a strong domestic league. But a quarterfinal defeat to Finland proved a bitter pill to swallow.
Russian national hero Ovechkin plies his trade in the NHL for the Washington Capitals and was selected to be among the first torchbearers for the Sochi Winter Olympics in honor of his achievements.
Russia's group match against the U.S. was a huge draw and sold out. T.J. Oshie gave the U.S. victory in the shootout as the game drew comparisons with the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" clash in Lake Placid.
In 2010, a massive television audience tuned in to see Crosby score the crucial winning goal for Canada against the U.S. in the gold medal match in Vancouver.
January 1, 2014 proved to be a colder day than most for more than 100,000 shivering hockey fans as they defied the weather to cram into the Michigan Stadium, also known as the Big House, to witness Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-2 win against Detroit Red Wings in the NHL's sixth Winter Classic.
The attendance of 105,491 set a new record high for a hockey match, with 40,000 Maple Leafs fans making the journey across the Ontario border. The previous record of 104,173 was set in the same venue for a 2010 clash between Michigan and Michigan State.
Ice hockey at its best requires skill, speed and strength, with no holds barred.
New York Islanders faced the New York Rangers as ice hockey hit the Yankee Stadium in the Big Apple for another "Stadium Series' clash as the NHL geared up ahead of the Winter Olympics.
There is hope that, in order to grow the game internationally, the World Cup of Hockey will be revived. The U.S. won 5-2 win over Canada in the inaugural 1996 staging, but the follow-up in 2004 was its last.
Canada. Back-to-back Olympic GOLD medalists.
FINAL: @HockeyCanada (3) - Sweden (0)
Recap: http://t.co/3AU6zs14An pic.twitter.com/Nr92dwKYUn
— NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2014Then, ahead of the NFL's Super Bowl, the Yankees Stadium in New York -- an iconic baseball venue -- was packed out for another clash in the NHL's "Stadium Series" to underline the popularity of these events.
So, with a growing audience among casual sports fans in its traditional markets and now a global audience watching the best of the best competing for their countries, can ice hockey capitalize on this popularity and go truly global?
For now, the NHL is coy about any expansion plans, but a spokesman told CNN: "We have a long history of playing games in Europe and are working with the Players' Association (NHLPA) to formulate a comprehensive calendar of games and activities in Europe.
"International hockey, and the growth of international hockey, we've always identified as a real opportunity for continued growth of this game. Now might be the most opportune time to seize on it."
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From the NHLPA's point of view, it believes there is a real window of opportunity offered by Sochi.
Read: 10 reasons to love the Winter Games
"The Olympics will be a great platform to showcase the players and the sport at this best-on-best tournament," its executive director Don Fehr told CNN.
"There is a lot of opportunity to continue to grow our game not only in North America, but internationally as well."
All that points to a revival of the World Cup of Hockey. The successor to the Canada Cup (1976-91) it has not been staged since 2004, when Canada beat Finland in the final. The only other year it was held was 1996, when the U.S triumphed.
"We are working with the NHL to bring back the tournament, while establishing a long-term international hockey calendar," Fehr said.
Allain Roy, a former Olympic silver medalist for Canada who now acts as an agent for more than 200 players, said he would be in favor of a return of the World Cup because of its traditions.
"That's classic hockey, so to me there's some value in it," he told CNN.
"One-offs" such as a World Cup may well help spread ice hockey's appeal, but can the NHL follow the NFL's lead and stage regular-season games in other countries? Goodell is already openly talking up the possibility of a gridiron franchise in London after the success of taking teams to the British capital.
Read: From the Soviet army to Sochi
Fehr believes that if the NFL can expand its fan base so aggressively outside of the United States then the NHL should be even better placed.
Omw back to Ottawa. Had such a good time at the Olympics. But excited to come home again and play some more hockey. pic.twitter.com/wvMUsYl5f6
— Erik Karlsson (@ErikKarlsson65) February 24, 2014"Of the four major sports in North America, the NHL is situated best to grow there, as there is great support for hockey already in Europe and we have a lot of international players in our game," he said.
"The players feel strongly we need to continue to grow our sport internationally."
Roy, who was a goaltender in the Canadian squad for the 1994 Lillehammer Games, sounds a note of caution. The 44-year-old is concerned that the traveling involved if a European-style division is put in place would place intolerable demands on the game's elite stars.
"I think they would love the idea but in an NHL season you are talking about a sport where there are over 90 games in an eight-and-a-half-month period," he said.
"In the NFL it's just one game a week, so it's a bit different."
British ice hockey's big battle
If you don't like the cold, look away now...
If you don't like the cold, look away now
Everyone loves a comeback ... Facing a two-goal deficit, Canada secured a 3-2 victory over the U.S. in the women's ice hockey final.
Sochi 2014: Top-10 sporting moments
Roy says occasional regular-season games in cities like London may offer a better way forward to help spread the influence of the sport.
He also floats the idea of a preseason tournament involving the top European teams taking on the cream of the NHL.
Read: Crosby is Canada Olympic hero
"The best teams in the world playing in a series, I would have an interest in watching that," he said.
Whatever the future holds for expansion plans, the NHL is thriving financially off the back of recent commercial deals.
Television and broadcast rights in hockey-mad Canada alone for the next 12 years were sold for an eye-watering $5.2 billion.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley shares his boss Bettman's optimism over the game's health, citing a "great season" last year capped by Chicago Blackhawks' 4-2 win over Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
"On the franchise ownership front we're clearly more stable than any time in my time with the league (he joined in 1996) and concluded a landmark television deal," Daley said.
The 2013-14 regular season has taken a break from February 9-26 while its best players headed to Russia to represent their countries in the quest for gold.
Seven NHL referees and six linesmen also lent their expertise for the 12-team men's tournament and eight-nation women's event, though the Olympics were played under the auspices of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
Read: Hockey's biggest star returns
A slightly wider and longer rink was used in Sochi and the playing regulations also differed slightly from the NHL, but the uninitiated spectator at the venues or on television would have noticed little difference.
With temperatures at minus 13 Celsius (13 Fahrenheit) and a wind chill of minus 1, those Winter Classic fans that had ventured out to watch the sport played in its original winter form are probably still thawing out. A steady snowfall also delayed traffic, causing some fans to miss the opening face-off.
Play was stopped twice in the first period in order for crews to shovel snow off the ice.
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier, who made 41 saves, reportedly needed heat packs under his kit to keep warm. "Definitely it was something really special," Bernier told the NHL website. "As hockey players we're never going to forget that. Having 105,000 people screaming and yelling for us is really amazing."
Other players sported black balaclavas under their helmets, while a few wore knitted hats on top of them. Drinking water also proved to be a problem, with bottles freezing on the benches.
Toronto Maples Leafs coach Randy Carlyle (pictured) saw his side come out on top, but it was the conditions and setting that really blew away the game's participants. "It was the best experience I probably ever had playing hockey," Detroit forward Abdelkader told the NHL website. "It was awesome. It brings you back to your childhood days when you're out on the pond or playing in the backyard. It was a lot of fun."
Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock was equally charmed by the experience, despite his side being defeated. "It was a home run for hockey," he told the NHL website.
The Canadians also won the men's ice hockey title. Here Sidney Crosby scores past Sweden's goalkeeper Henrik Lundqvist during the final at the Bolshoy Ice Dome.
U.S. hockey fans did have some small consolation in the men's thrilling shootout victory over Russia, which went on to suffer a quarterfinal exit against eventual bronze medalist Finland. The Americans finished fourth.
The Netherlands snaffled 23 speed skating medals -- eight of them gold -- with Ireen Wust becoming the face of Dutch dominance as she won two golds and three silvers in Sochi.
As Ahn Hyun-soo, he won three golds and a bronze for South Korea at the Turin 2006 Winter Games. As Victor An, he repeated that feat for his adopted Russia -- helping the host nation top the overall medal table.
Norway's champion cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen became the most decorated female athlete in Winter Olympics history when she took home five medals from Sochi, three of them gold, to give the 33-year-old an overall total of 10.
Norway also has the Winter Games' most decorated male athlete in Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. The 40-year-old biathlete added two golds to his tally for 13 overall, one more than compatriot Bjoern Daehlie.
Charlie White and Meryl Davis made up for being beaten to gold by Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue at Vancouver 2010 by winning the United States' first ice dancing title in Sochi, leaving the Canadians in second place. Both pairs are coached by Russian Marina Zoueva.
Julia Lipitskaya won the hearts of the crowd when she helped Russia win the team figure skating competition, but the 15-year-old was fifth in the individual event as compatriot Adelina Sotnikova, 17, won gold from defending champion Kim Yuna of South Korea.
Alpine skiing's 2013 World Cup champion Tina Maze, right, made history at Sochi when she shared the women's downhill gold with Switzerland's Dominique Gisin. The Slovenian then won the giant slalom to become only the second woman to triumph in both events.
U.S.-born snowboarder Vic Wild won the parallel giant slalom just minutes after his Russian wife Alena Zavarzina took bronze in the women's event. Wild, who switched allegiance to Russia after his sport's funding was cut, followed it up with another gold in the parallel slalom.
Tre Kronor takes home the silver medal. pic.twitter.com/wrTYFxmJ5m
— NHL (@NHL) February 23, 2014What they witnessed was the world's top professionals battling for gold, although it's only since the 1998 Nagano Games that the NHL has released its players for the competition.
Before each Winter Games there have been reports that the arrangement could come to an end. Some NHL franchises were opposed to allowing star players to compete for fear of midseason injury, but it has been maintained.
With over 50 million television viewers in North America alone watching Sidney Crosby give Canada an overtime victory over its neighbors in the 2010 Olympic final, it is difficult to argue a case against participation.
Crosby was a hero again with the second goal against Sweden as Canada took gold for the second straight Winter Games in Sochi.
But the tournament was notable for the strong performances of European nations, with Sweden handicapped by the loss of three key players in the final, while Finland thrashed the United States in the bronze medal match.
In the women's tournament, Canada beat the U.S. in the final, but Switzerland took the bronze.
Whether this is enough to prompt the spread of ice hockey into more uncharted territory, only time will tell.
Roy, who has played in Japan and China, believes there is "some potential" to move into markets in Asia.
Closer to home, he also wants the NHL to license more franchises in the U.S. because he has seen for himself the quality and depth of players now available, many of whom are on his books.
