Now factor in the improvement of coaching. Having watched Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers dominate in the 1980s, coaches adapted their thinking to being far more defensive. You play stifling defense and try to win a 1-0 game. The NHL's scoring drought is more about an over-abundance of talent than it is a lack of talent. Checkers now all seem to skate like they are Yvan Cournoyer in his prime.
Nobody gives anyone an inch of room.
The neutral zone looks like Tokyo at lunch hour. Bodies everywhere, nobody moving unencumbered. It's amazing how mobile these guys are skating backwards at 15 mph. The best pickpockets on the streets of Rome aren't as slick as Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom in swiping the puck from the forward or tying him up in a pretzel-knot without drawing a penalty. The notion of a winger rocketing past the weakest defenseman is as yesterday as Ford Mavericks and leisure suits.