Officials from the NHL and the players union met over the weekend for the first time in more than two weeks, spurring hope of a meaningful push toward a settlement of the seven-week-old lockout.

Bill Daly, the NHL deputy commissioner, and Steve Fehr, the union's special counsel, met from early Saturday afternoon until about 1 a.m. Sunday at an undisclosed location.

"We had a good, frank discussion on the most important issues," Daly said in a statement Sunday. "We plan to meet again early in the week."

In response to Daly, Fehr said, "Hopefully we can continue the dialogue, expand the group and make steady progress."

The sides met a day after the NHL canceled the Jan. 1 Winter Classic. The league had already canceled all games scheduled for October and November, amounting to 26.5 percent of the season.

The union had sought to reopen bargaining since Oct. 18, when commissioner Gary Bettman rejected three union proposals. The main point of contention is how existing contracts will be honored once the players' split of overall revenue is reduced to 50 percent, from 57.

MLS

Adam Moffat and Will Bruin both scored to give host Houston a 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The second leg is Wednesday in Kansas City. Moffat scored in the 18th minute, and Bruin in the 75th. Kansas City is the conference's top seed.