The NHL is riding a wave of popularity thanks to a well-hyped, if slightly underwhelming, Stanley Cup finals. Perhaps it can use this newfound influence to penetrate what is apparently an untapped audience: Eggheads on "Jeopardy!"

Last night's syndicated episode featured a category called "Sports" and the following answer: "In 2000, an expansion team known as the Minnesota Wild joined this professional sports league." And then this happened:

You have to imagine a nice Canadian boy like Trebek must have been dying inside every millisecond that the three contestants stood stone-faced in silence.

But in "Jeopardy!" terms, what speaks more loudly about where Gary Bettman's NHL stands in mainstream culture: That three bookworms with buzzers didn't know who the Minnesota Wild were, or that a question that basically asks what sport the team plays was at a $2,000 Double Jeopardy level of obscurity?

For comparison's sake, the $2,000 question from "Women Authors" on the same episode: "2008's 'The Purrfect Murder' is the latest in a series of mysteries by this activist and her cat Sneaky Pie." Uh, yeah.

The answer: This Puck Daddy reader deserves a hat-tip for pointing us to the clip. The question: Who is FlyerinTO?