Thursday is the deadline set by the National Hockey League to reach a deal with the players’ union, one that would salvage a regular 82-game season.

The league said if there’s no deal to end the lockout, a full hockey season will not be possible.

There is still a small window of opportunity to get in a full season of hockey with playoffs. However, with no talks planned between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), league commissioner Gary Bettman isn’t sounding hopeful.

“Unfortunately, it looks like the 82-game season is not going to be a reality, although the clock still has a little bit of time to run,” Bettman said.

“The timetable that I laid out was that we needed to have a deal to open training camps on Oct. 26 … and open the season on Nov. 2,” he added.

U.S. President Barack Obama was asked on the “Tonight Show” on Wednesday night if he could “pull some strings” to end the NHL lockout.

Obama said the owners and players should think about the fans, “who are working really hard — they buy tickets, they watch it on TV.”

A source said the next round of game cancellations is expected to be announced by Friday. At this point, games have been cancelled until Nov. 1.