N.H.L. Labor Talks Proceeding With Optimism The N.H.L. Players" Association heard responses from the league on a new proposal centering on two key issues Thursday, as bargaining intensified in a third straight day of talks at what had been an unspecified location in Manhattan. That location turned out to be the offices of Proskauer Rose, the Midtown law firm that has advised the N.H.L. on its strategy of imposing lockouts in labor disputes in 1994, 2004 and earlier this year. How did you find us? Commissioner Gary Bettman asked a crowd of reporters gathered Thursday night outside the firm's offices on 41st Street and Eighth Avenue. At the league's request, the union had agreed to keep the location of this week's talks secret in an effort to focus on the bargaining without the supposed distraction of managing public relations. Both Bettman and Donald Fehr, the union's executive director, said talks would continue Friday, signaling continued progress on Day 54 of the lockout. Fehr declined to discuss the negotiations but sounded a note of highly guarded optimism. "It's better to be meeting and talking than not," he said. Bettman expressed a similar sentiment. "We have work to do, and we're working hard," he said. Hopefully, it leads us to the right place. Officials from both sides refused to characterize the league's response to the new union proposal, and union officials gave no details on the plan. But union officials confirmed that their proposal involved revenue sharing among clubs and a make-whole provision, a mechanism that would allow existing contracts to be honored under a lower salary cap. The union has said it will accept a 50-50 split of the league's overall revenue, down from a 57-43 split under the collective bargaining agreement that expired Sept. The make-whole issue is seen as the biggest obstacle to a settlement. The union wants existing contracts honored in full, while in past proposals the league has sought to defer payments on such contracts. Thursday's session lasted from 1 to 6:15 p.m., after bargaining sessions totaling more than 13 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. Eight players were present for Thursday's session: David Backes, Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche, Ron Hainsey, Milan Lucic, Manny Malhotra, Shawn Thornton and Kevin Westgarth. Sidney Crosby, who had been present for Tuesday's talks, returned to Pittsburgh after that day's session ahead of the snowstorm that struck New York on Wednesday. At least one owner, Jeremy Jacobs of the Bruins, was present for Thursday's talks. Jacobs is the chairman of the league's board of governors. Bettman said the N.H.L. chose to keep the location of the talks secret "because we have work to do, and my hope is that we can achieve the goal of getting a long-term, fair agreement in place as quickly as possible so we can play hockey." He added, "Every day that passes I think is critical for the game and for our fans." The entire N.H.L. schedule for October and November has been canceled, along with the Jan. 1 Winter Classic - a total of 327 games, or 26.5 percent of the season. Bettman's tone was far more measured Thursday than it was the last time he spoke publicly. On Oct. 18 he dismissed three proposals minutes after the union offered them, saying, "We were done in an hour today because there was really nothing there." Fehr said the two sides might keep negotiating into the weekend. "If there's something to talk about, then I expect we will be," he said.