We came so close last year. That's the thing sitting in the back of every Oilers fan's head going into this stretch. The run to the Stanley Cup Final and what happened there - you don't forget that, and you don't walk into another late-season grind without carrying it. Connor McDavid is still the best player on the planet and the way he processes the game at speed in tight moments is something you have to just accept as a category of its own. Leon Draisaitl is a 50-goal scorer who would be the best player on most rosters in the NHL. Having both of them is either a gift or a source of anxiety depending on which night you catch us.

Stuart Skinner has been the question mark. The goaltending conversation in Edmonton never fully goes away, and whether Skinner is ready to be a legitimate playoff starter after last year's experience is what we keep coming back to. The power play is still one of the most dangerous units in the league - when McDavid gets it in gear with the man advantage it's genuinely unfair.

Rogers Place home games in a push feel like the atmosphere this team deserves. Come grab tickets for a late game - the building gets electric and you can feel the weight of what this group is trying to do. The Oilers window is real and the roster is built right. What they haven't done yet is finish it. That's still out there waiting.