If the excitement of the Stars' first-round series with Nashville did not provide ample evidence of Dallas' strength as a hockey market, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman came to American Airlines Center on Monday to provide more.

"The presale for the Winter Classic exceeded 60,000," Bettman told me before Game 6. "It's the second best we've had in our 27 outdoor games. It tells you what an incredible hockey market this is. People are really responding to the Winter Classic."

The 2020 game, to be played Jan. 1 at the Cotton Bowl, is the first of its kind in anything approaching the southern part of the United States. Only Detroit's game with Toronto at Michigan Stadium, one that drew an NHL-record 105,491 fans in 2014, had a larger presale, the commissioner said.

The general ticket sale begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Capacity for the game is flexible but is likely to be in the range of 80,000 depending upon entertainment setup and other options.

Bettman said he is not shocked by the sale, only "pleased," which is understandable.

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"We had to make a series of decisions. First was to go with the Cotton Bowl, which wasn't so hard because that's an iconic venue. Then to go with a quote nontraditional matchup. But I believe they have sold about 11,000 tickets in Nashville, so people are coming to town for New Year's.

"Every outdoor game has been sold out. In terms of attention the Winter Classic gets, people almost forget it's a regular-season game," he said.

It may feel like more, anyway, given the rivalry that the first Stars-Predators postseason matchup has generated.

Bettman arrived in Dallas just an hour before the game. Although I've said many times the Stanley Cup playoffs' first round is far superior to the NBA's, Bettman didn't use those exact words, but the former NBA senior vice president could have.

"No sport has the competitive balance that we do,'' he said. "It's extraordinary. We've had two sweeps which were completely unpredictable [Columbus knocking off Tampa Bay, the President's Trophy winner, and the Islanders eliminating Pittsburgh]. We've had one five-game series, and the rest will all go six or seven games."

The playoffs have been wild and are just getting started. Hockey at the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 figures to be wild on its own.

Twitter: @TimCowlishaw