The NHL lockout has been in place for 11 days, but at least a small bit of good news is rolling in.

For the first time since the players were locked out on Sept. 15, the two sides will meet to discuss their differences on Friday, with Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr expected to be present.

While it's not on the schedule to talk about the main economic issues such as salary rollbacks for players and the percentage each side will get from the total financial pie, progress could still be made.

The NHL has already lost all of its September preseason games and, according to triblive.com, could announce the loss of the remaining preseason contest as early as Wednesday.

If the lockout drags on much longer, it would be fair to reason that the NHL's regular season will start to feel the impact. The season opener is scheduled for Oct. 11, something that seems almost implausible at the moment.